Gabriela Morawska-Stanecka, who is a deputy Speaker of the Polish upper house, the Senate, made the appeal in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio on Tuesday.
She said people in many cities around Europe would take part in the initiative, by turning off Christmas lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 21, “the shortest and darkest day of the year,” Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.
The initiative is designed to raise international awareness about the destruction of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure by Russia, Morawska-Stanecka added.
“I call on everyone to stand in solidarity with Ukraine during this hour,” Morawska-Stanecka told Polish Radio.
Hour for Ukraine
Morawska-Stanecka added that cities in Britain, the Czech Republic, Germany and a number of other countries have already joined the initiative, dubbed “An Hour for Ukraine,” which has been conceived by Ukrainian MPs.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Morawska-Stanecka said: “We’re already thinking about Christmas; meanwhile, every night and every day, missiles hit Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. For Ukraine and probably for the entire Europe, this is likely to be the coldest and saddest Christmas."
She added, as quoted by Polish state news agency PAP: “Our brothers in Ukraine will spend this Christmas in the cold and dark, often without water. And that’s why we are launching the 'Hour for Ukraine’ initiative.”
Morawska-Stanecka told reporters: “It’s about people in all cities switching off Christmas lights and displays for an hour, starting at 8 p.m., on December 21, the darkest day of the year, and thus paying tribute to those who won’t have electricity this Christmas."
Since October, Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with rocket and drone attacks, leaving millions without electricity, heat and access to drinking water.
Authorities have been forced to make emergency power outages around the country to ease the burden on the damaged energy facilities, according to news outlets.
Wednesday is day 301 of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, samorzad.pap.pl