Winter has arrived in Ukraine — bringing with it relentless Russian missile barrages, prolonged power outages and sharp price hikes. These challenges threaten to overshadow Hanukkah for tens of thousands of Jews in the country, marking their fourth festival of lights under the shadow of war.
Starting January 1, Ukraine is set to raise excise taxes on fuel, a move that has sparked concerns about a deeper economic crisis. The excise tax on gasoline will rise from 271.7 euros to 300.8 euros per 1,000 liters; diesel from 215.7 euros to 253.8 euros; and automotive gas from 173 euros to 198 euros. The immediate effect: a steep increase in the cost of transportation, agriculture and food products.
The deputy head of Ukraine’s General Agricultural Council warned that if power outages continue for eight hours a day, the prices of dairy and meat products could surge by about 30%. “It’s true that we’ve been living in a wartime routine for years now, but the situation isn’t improving, it’s getting worse,” said a Kyiv resident. “There’s a constant sense of emergency, and no one feels secure.”
Amid nightly shelling and prolonged blackouts, Jewish communities across Ukraine are grappling with especially harsh conditions. An increasing number of families report financial distress and growing concerns over their children’s well-being. Some regions are also experiencing shortages of basic necessities. Community rabbis are doing what they can to maintain Jewish life, even as the situation continues to deteriorate. “Missiles fall almost every night, the electricity barely comes back, and prices just keep rising, this is a real emergency,” said a resident of Dnipro and member of the local Jewish community.
Ahead of the holiday, community leaders made preparations in advance in an effort to brighten the lives of Ukraine’s Jews. Jewish Relief Network of Ukraine (JRNU) and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews are currently running a large-scale emergency campaign to distribute humanitarian aid, including food packages, blankets, heating kits and medicine — along with menorahs, candles and informational pamphlets. “Hanukkah is a holiday of light, and we’re here to bring that light even to the darkest places,” said Fellowship President Yael Eckstein. According to her, the aid is reaching dozens of communities across the country, sometimes at great personal risk.
The aid is being distributed on the ground by Chabad emissaries and local rabbis spread throughout Ukraine. “We’re making sure the distribution is carried out in an organized and dignified manner,” one rabbi said. “Our shared prayer is that the light of Hanukkah will drive away the darkness of war, and that peace will return to Ukraine after so many difficult years.”
A Hanukkah gift from Ukraine’s Jews to Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet in the coming days with about 15 Chabad emissaries who serve as city rabbis across Ukraine, and light Hanukkah candles with them in his Kyiv office.
The meeting is intended as a gesture by Zelensky toward the country’s Jewish community, which has stood in full solidarity with the Ukrainian people, both in their heroic struggle and in the suffering brought on by the war. It also reflects his appreciation for the emissaries who chose to remain in Ukraine despite having the option to leave as Israeli or American citizens. The event has taken place annually since the war began.
This year, Ukraine’s rabbis are planning two unique gifts as a special surprise for Zelensky. Rabbi Meir Stambler, head of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine and a Chabad emissary, is set to present Zelensky with an ancient coin from the time of the Hasmonean revolt against the Greeks. The 2,100-year-old coin bears an inscription in ancient Hebrew that reads, between two grape leaves, “Jonathan the High Priest and the council of the Jews.” The reverse side features two cornucopias with a pomegranate between them.
According to him, “Presenting the ancient and unique coin to President Zelensky is timely because it coincides with Hanukkah, but it is also deeply symbolic. It represents the war Zelensky is waging against Russia, a struggle of the weak against the strong, of the few against the many. We hope the light of the holiday will dispel the darkness and bring redemption and peace to the entire world.”
Another gift Zelensky will receive from Rabbi Stambler is a newly published Ukrainian-language edition of the Five Books of Moses, translated into Ukrainian for the first time. The volumes were released just a few months ago and distributed to synagogues across the country. This week, the same editions were also delivered to 50,000 Jewish households throughout Ukraine as part of special Hanukkah aid boxes purchased, packed and distributed by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU).
In cooperation with Chabad emissaries in the country, the federation distributed the packages to Jews living in 169 major cities and towns across Ukraine. In addition to the Five Books of Moses, each package includes a decorative menorah, candles for all eight nights of Hanukkah, Hanukkah gelt, informational pamphlets about the holiday, chocolate coins for children and a children’s book titled “Eight Bright Nights” by Jessica Liev, now translated into Ukrainian for the first time. In light of the spread of influenza in Ukraine, each package also includes a set of medical masks. Packing and distributing the tens of thousands of kits took about a month.
The federation also promoted the holiday with hundreds of large billboards in major cities across the country to raise awareness among as many Jews as possible. At the same time, with the help of Chabad emissaries, it will hold public menorah lightings in all 34 cities where Chabad emissaries reside on a permanent basis, in accordance with the directive of the Menachem Mendel Schneerson, as is done each year at thousands of locations around the world.