02:27New Year's tree 20 metres high set on Mariupol square
A 20-metre high New Year's tree has been installed on Freedom Square in Mariupol, said city mayor Konstantin Ivashchenko on Saturday.
"The installation of the city's main New Year tree has been finished in Mariupol. The main symbol of the New Year is a gift from the government of St. Petersburg. A twin sister of the New Year beauty has been installed on Kazanskaya Square in the northern capital," he wrote in his Telegram channel.
Footage taken on Saturday shows the final stage of preparing the festive tree for the New Year - decorating it with balloons. The tree is surrounded by unusual illumination in the form of white pigeons.
On the eve of the holiday, Mariupol residents shared their expectations for the new year. Tatyana, a local resident, said that the city's improvement makes her forget about bad emotions.
"I try to forget these bad emotions and see something good being done in the city, for the people," Tatyana said.
A representative of the organisation installing the city's New Year tree, Nikolai, said the Christmas decorations attracted the interest of Mariupol residents
"People are lively. They walk around with their kids, they come up and ask: 'Natural or not natural [Christmas tree]?' In the evenings they come and start walking around," the man shared.
On September 30, President Vladimir Putin agreed to sign documents allowing the accession of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, to the Russian Federation.
According to Moscow, the move followed referenda in which people living in those areas exercised their right to self-determination and requested to join Russia.
Ukraine and its international allies condemned the move, calling it an annexation of Kiev’s sovereign territory.
02:27A 20-metre high New Year's tree has been installed on Freedom Square in Mariupol, said city mayor Konstantin Ivashchenko on Saturday.
"The installation of the city's main New Year tree has been finished in Mariupol. The main symbol of the New Year is a gift from the government of St. Petersburg. A twin sister of the New Year beauty has been installed on Kazanskaya Square in the northern capital," he wrote in his Telegram channel.
Footage taken on Saturday shows the final stage of preparing the festive tree for the New Year - decorating it with balloons. The tree is surrounded by unusual illumination in the form of white pigeons.
On the eve of the holiday, Mariupol residents shared their expectations for the new year. Tatyana, a local resident, said that the city's improvement makes her forget about bad emotions.
"I try to forget these bad emotions and see something good being done in the city, for the people," Tatyana said.
A representative of the organisation installing the city's New Year tree, Nikolai, said the Christmas decorations attracted the interest of Mariupol residents
"People are lively. They walk around with their kids, they come up and ask: 'Natural or not natural [Christmas tree]?' In the evenings they come and start walking around," the man shared.
On September 30, President Vladimir Putin agreed to sign documents allowing the accession of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, to the Russian Federation.
According to Moscow, the move followed referenda in which people living in those areas exercised their right to self-determination and requested to join Russia.
Ukraine and its international allies condemned the move, calling it an annexation of Kiev’s sovereign territory.