DISPATCH FROM KYIV
Russia hasn’t won war in Ukraine if its traditions live on
In the face of onslaught Ukrainians are keeping up new year customs and preserving the identity Russia would erase
Mykhailo, 15, plays the part of the reluctant goat
In embroidered shirts and sheepskin hats, the villagers processed through central Kyiv serenading Ukraine’s newest weapon — one they hope will turn the tide of the war in 2024.
“The goat has to be handsome,” said Lyudmila Kornyenko, stroking the teenager dressed in a farmyard costume who had been appointed to bring good fortune for the new year. “He’s an excellent goat.”
The day after the largest Russian missile attack of the war, the folk singers of Velyka Dymerka, a town 18 miles outside Kyiv, performed carols on the streets of the capital to raise money for the Ukrainian army. The tradition, which has pagan roots, involves a youth dressed up as a goat being paraded through town.
The villagers ask the goat to grant
