This could describe the pre-New Year mood in Ukraine, and it puts us on a common trajectory with Europe and the world. Common values and enemies are the best weapons against geopolitical loneliness.
But Ukraine would not be Ukraine if the New Year mood of its citizens was not enlivened with some bright and chaotic political decisions. The “orchestra” of state power – the cabinet of ministers – has been shooting new bills into the sky like fireworks, causing everyone to look up in amazement at the enchanting spectacle.
Ukrainians always have something to talk about, to discuss and disagree on. When the Ministry of Defense decided to register almost all women between the ages of 18 and 60, the topic of a possible war with Russia came to life with renewed vigor and made its way into every kitchen.
Apparently, this was the only way to revitalize Ukrainian’s fear of war – people had already grown so tired of being afraid of it.
It was scary in 2014, when, during the annexation of Crimea, the Russian State Duma voted to allow Russian troops to fight on the territory of other states. Since then, the Ukrainian-Russian war has been simmering dangerously in the occupied territories of Ukraine’s Donbas.
Yet another proof of Russian military presence in the Donbas came to light when a fighter from there, under the influence of drugs, stumbled through no man’s land into a Ukrainian position. During interrogation by the State Security Service (SBU), he complained of bullying by the commanding Russian officers.
Needless to say, the announcement by the Ministry of Defense about registering women for military service, has worried Ukrainian men. And women don’t like the idea either, especially since it has been clarified that both pregnant women and mothers of young children should be registered by the end of 2022.
What’s more, women who fail to register by the end of 2022 will face large fines.
Defenders of the decision concerning military registration for women base their arguments on the example of Israel, where women serve in the army on an equal basis with men. But far from provoking increased solidarity within Ukrainian society against its enemies, this bill has provoked loud debate about the adequacy of the country’s military leadership.
It was probably in order to defuse these disputes that the authorities decided to puzzle citizens further with a more neutral bill. It came from the Ministry of Ecology and increases the fines for damage to protected natural resources.
The decree specifies the size of each fine applicable for any possible damage, including the killing of an ordinary frog (Hr 14 per frog), picking a mushroom without permission (Hr 75 per mushroom), the illegal collection of wild nuts (Hr 1.154 per kg).
It’s a pity that the Ukrainian defenders of protected frogs, mushrooms and nuts have not proposed how to enforce these laws. Swiss “mushroom police,” for example, have the right to weigh a mushroom picker’s harvest in the forest and to issue an on-the-spot fine if the law has been broken.
In general, I would prefer Ukraine to follow Swiss examples, rather than Israeli ones. This is what I would wish for my country for the New Year.
In the meantime, I look back and think: what do I want to transfer from 2021 to 2022?
Yes, of course, I would like to transfer the old gas and electricity prices. But experience has taught me that the new year always brings new prices for everything. So, remaining realistic, I wish that the quality of coffee in Kyiv’s coffee houses will remain the same.
While not wanting a decrease in the selection of French, Italian and Spanish wines available, I would like to see wines from Ukrainian Bessarabia and Transcarpathia continue to delight us with their taste and quality in the new year.
I would also like to wish new successes to Ukrainian cheese makers and to all the small, craft producers of tasty and edible products. For Ukrainians, the taste of food is very important! Tasty food allows Ukrainians to reconcile themselves to political reality. This is our history and our mentality.
As a writer, I can’t help but share a separate piece of New Year joy. A small but high-profile ‘book lobby’ has persuaded the government to include books in the list of goods and services that can be bought using the Hr 1,000 handouts given to every fully vaccinated citizen of Ukraine.
8 million virtual bank cards with these ‘covid thousands’ have already been issued and vaccinated Ukrainians have flocked to online bookstores to spend the money on literature. This has saved half of Ukrainian publishing houses from bankruptcy and created some new, rather pleasant problems for publishers.
They urgently need to re-print books that have sold out. The only problem is a shortage of paper and a shortage of printing houses. This is both a problem and an incentive.
Moreover, another Hr 18 billion has been inserted into the 2022 state budget for the ‘covid thousand’ gifts to vaccinated Ukrainians. Soon it will be safe to say that vaccinated Ukrainians read more than unvaccinated ones!
So, handouts for the vaccinated will continue into 2022, as will the wearing of masks, the war on carefully selected oligarchs, promises to protect foreign investments and QR codes confirming our right to travel in international airspace and into restaurant premises.
Let’s enjoy 2022 to the full and God bless us all!
