‘The light always wins’: Jews celebrate Hanukkah in blackout-hit Kyiv …

‘The light always wins’: Jews celebrate Hanukkah in blackout-hit Kyiv

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A rabbi stands next to a giant menorah during a ceremony for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 18, 2022. © Valentyn Ogirenko, Reuters

Ukrainian Jews gathered in Kyiv on Sunday, December 18, to mark the start of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, at a time when much of the country has been plunged into darkness by waves of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, cutting power to millions.  At the city’s iconic Independence Square, people huddled together for warmth to watch the lighting of what officials said was Europe’s largest Hanukkah menorah.