Famous Christmas Carol Inspiring Ukraine’s Defenders

Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine is the birthplace of one of the world’s favourite carols, the Carol of the Bells.

But there are few signs of Christmas in the city this year. Just a dusting of snow on deserted streets and skeletal buildings – and the constant sound of heavy shelling.

Pokrovsk is Russia’s next target. Its troops are now less than two miles, three kilometres, from the city centre.

And it’s not just buildings and homes that are being destroyed. Ukraine accuses Russia of trying to erase its cultural identity, too – including its associations with that well-known carol.

Most of Pokrovsk’s population has already fled. The gas supply’s been turned off, and many homes are without electricity and water. Those who remain, like 59-year-old Ihor, only break cover to find the bare essentials. He says it’s like living on a powder keg – you never know when or where the next shell will land.

Oksana, 43, says she’s too frightened to leave her home but goes out during a lull in the shelling to find wood and coal to keep warm.

She tells me she hopes Ukraine’s armed forces can hold on to the city, but she thinks that’s unlikely. Pokrovsk, she says, will probably fall.

The city has already prepared for the worst. The statue of its famous composer, Mykola Leontovych, has already been removed. The music school that bore his name now lies boarded up and empty.

Leontovych may not be well known in the West. But the tune he composed is familiar around the world – with its chime-like vocals. It’s thought that Leontovych wrote the early scores of the composition, based on a Ukrainian folk chant, while he was living and working in Pokrovsk between 1904 and 1908.

In Ukraine, it’s known as Shchedryk. To most of the world, it became known as the Carol of the Bells, after American composer Peter Wilhousky wrote English lyrics for the song. The tune’s use in the Hollywood film Home Alone helped boost its popularity.

Viktoria Ametova calls it “a masterpiece – the signature song of Pokrovsk.” She, too, was until recently teaching music in the city in the school that bore Leontovych’s name.

She’s now moved to the relative safety of Dnipro. It’s where many of Pokrovsk’s former residents are still trying to keep the memories of their former home alive.

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq