welcome to voice of america in ukrainian and our chas time program, my name is ostap yarysh. russia's attack on the railway station. kherson is another reminder that when most people celebrate the holidays at home with their families, barbaric attacks by russia continue in ukraine. thus, the us ambassador to kyiv, bridget brink, reacted to the russian missile strike, which killed one policeman and injured four more people. at the kherson station at the time of the attack, our journalist colleague marichka paplooskaite, editor-in-chief of reporters, was with her iryna solomko spoke. during the day.

er, well, i tried to count, it was somewhere, five or six sirens, they are literally, well, one ends, the next one begins, and at that very moment you hear explosions, that is, if in kyiv we hear a siren and such we will be protected by anti-aircraft defense, and we are not too worried, although there are also tragic hits here, but they are much less, and there it is constantly, constantly flying somewhere, and actually this day i heard these you... that they were shining, that is, if in the morning it was somewhere very far away, then it was towards evening closer, closer, closer, and at the moment when the train was brought in, when people gathered to get into the car, at that moment an explosion sounded very close, but it was not yet right at the station, and at that moment the station staff, they reacted very well, they got all the passengers down to the shelter, actually it was... well it was a matter

of a few minutes there because it was very lucky that at that moment most of the people, they were inside the station and they were able to get down quickly , and as soon as people entered, at that moment the next explosion sounded, and that was it there was a direct hit to the station , that is, the walls were shaking, something was falling from steel there, but at that moment most of the people were already safe, and unfortunately, those policemen who were helping people to get down were injured, accordingly, they entered into... and several of they didn't even immediately notice that they were wounded, that is, they went down to the basement, and there it was a shock for a few minutes, and then they said, i have something there, and luckily there were doctors there who were able to immediately provide help, and well, except one, unfortunately, deceased, this is the moment when you understand that anything can happen, well, if these basement walls hold up, and if...

no, if we collapse, i mean, it was a moment where i could actually imagine in my mind that i could die here right now, and it was, it was scary, but i held on thanks to the fact that i had a very brave, honorable mission, because i came to kherson and there i talked with the head of the station, mrs. alla lopata, and she was given a present for mykola just recently kitty, a little kitten. e lyalya and e when the shelling began, she gave up this cat to me, despite the fact that before that we went down to the basement several times during the day, because there were alarms, but the cat was left upstairs, and this time she gave me the cat and ran down to the basement, and since she was busy with what she it was necessary to organize people, she had to make decisions about what we do next, at what moment we can leave, what about the train, so she had a lot of responsibility. i was watching over the cat and i

held him in my hands, this little living ball, and he gave me such a feeling of life and helped me a lot, and mrs. ala, she periodically came up, took this cat on her shoulder, hugged him , then gave him back and ran on to decide what she had to do, eh, it is difficult for me to say how long we stayed in the basement, eh, according to mine, then i was there trying to figure out how long it took, i think it was about an hour and a half. and all this time we still heard explosions, and we also heard the exits, and it was very close, that is, we heard the exit and we understood that right now there, i don’t know, in a few seconds, minutes, it would fly and it did fly, so all the people are in the basement we were huddled together there and waiting to see what would happen now and then, well, after a while someone came out to check and said that the station was completely destroyed and that not a single...car

had survived, eh, and also that the locomotive could not to go, and then at that moment a decision was made as to what to do with the people, because they had to be taken out, six buses arrived and at that moment all... all the passengers were told to climb the mountain, and it was also a moment when we go up the mountain, but there is no break-off yet, that is, okay, we haven't heard explosions there for a while, but we don't know that there won't be any again, and everyone very quickly transferred to the buses, the lights on the bus were turned off so that we wouldn't be seen, and we drove through the city, i just at that moment, i just sat down on the floor and at that moment i burst into tears, it's good that the light was turned on so that i wouldn't panic. i cried a little, and then we drove to mykolaiv, and first of all, mykolaiv is my hometown, which was also very touching for me to feel safe right there, and we were also met there

by the railway workers, and it was very organized, they have already prepared four so far carriages, instead of those that remained in kherson and explained to the people there where... you have to sit down and people sat down for their tickets to the places that were written in them, and that was it, and we set off, and the train arrived in kyiv on time at 7 :20, this morning we were on the platform, in kyiv we were also met there by the railway management, because everyone was worried about this flight, so that everything would go well in the end. this is the testimony of marichka pavla oskait, editor-in-chief of the reporters publication, who was at the kherson railway station at the time... when the russian bullet was hit there rockets we continue with american topics. in the last working days of this year , the congress of the united states decided to postpone the approval of new aid to ukraine until next year. lawmakers also did not extend the law on lendlease for ukraine. it was considered a backup option in

case of delays in the delivery of military aid to kyiv. what will be the future of american support for ukraine in 2024 and is there a plan b for additional. our correspondent at the congress, kateryna lisonova, understood this. congress the united states did not extend the lendless act for ukraine and went on hiatus without agreeing to a new aid package. what will be the future of ukrainian support already next year, and is there a plan b. let's sum up the results of the year in the congress together and try to look into the next year. so, american lawmakers went on holiday without agreeing to changes to the migration legislation. the overall aid package for ukraine, israel, taiwan and other partners now depends on the latter. in general congress calls this package additional funding for the national security needs of the united states. if all other issues of national security cause little controversy, then

the question of migration legislation is the most difficult point of this package. according to the lawmakers themselves, washington has not implemented significant immigration reform in recent years. years since ronald reagan's presidency. so, in the last week before christmas, both democrats and republicans agreed that they needed more time to negotiate. this year there will be no more votes, but rest assured, the winter recess will be a busy and important week for the us senate. intense negotiations will continue until we find a solution. the speeches will continue in an online format, even during the holiday break, the legislators assure. but what happens next when the holidays are over? the biggest risk for ukrainian aid next year will be a lack of time. congress will return to business on january 8 and will almost immediately face the threat of a shutdown. government budget for 2024

the year has not yet been agreed upon. the latest interim resolution on government funding has two deadlines. some government institutions were financed until january 19, and others until february 2, so already in the middle of january, the aid package to ukraine may be in second or even third place in washington's priorities. so, more and more experts are asking the question, what can be the plan b to support ukraine? in the last working days , congress not only postponed the aid package, but also did not agree to the lendless law. both washington and kyiv were called landlis an airbag that will work if aid to ukraine is not agreed in the congress or for. will receive, that is, it should happen now. bendlis is an additional tool that we will use, i hope, more actively, if there is a need and we see that the funds for some programs are ending. formally, the operation of lenlis ended before it even started in september 2023.

the house of representatives proposed extending the lend-lease for ukraine for one more year to the defense budget of the united states. but the senate did not do this. so in the final version of the document, and agreed on the last thursday, the working session of the congress of lendlease for ukraine was not continued. arrested russian assets can become another financial source of aid to ukraine, say observers. yes edition. the new york times, citing american government officials, reports that a plan to confiscate and transfer frozen russian assets to ukraine may be announced as early as february 2024. so stay with us, both this year and the year to come. kateryna lisonova, voice of america, washington. we will definitely follow depending on how the situation will develop, in particular in the congress with the approval of additional aid for ukraine. meanwhile , payments may be delayed in ukraine. salaries and pensions for almost 12 million people, if the measure does not provide financial assistance at the beginning of 2024,

the first vice prime minister and minister of economy of ukraine yuliya sveredenko said. the imf, for its part, says that it is very important that funds from international donors arrive for ukraine in a timely manner. but they note that at the end of the year , the ukrainian authorities made sure that for there to be reserves of funds in case of delay of international aid. more about this and other things from the director. despite the economic situation, this year it was possible to maintain macroeconomic stability, accumulate currency reserves, and even carry out some reforms that the ukrainian government could have done better. first, let me sincerely congratulate the ukrainian government and all authorities on the excellent implementation of the program. economic activity, so this

year, well done, and as you said, reserves are in good shape, growth is faster than we expected, inflation also slowed down more than we expected, these are very important achievements, indeed, i congratulate the government, regarding what needs to be done, what the government should focus on, in particular, next year we need to continue reforms, keep the pace of public administration reforms regarding structural.. .reforms, why, because it will attract private investment for recovery and reconstruction, it will also convince donors that the money is well spent on goals that donors support, and ultimately, it will help ukraine in its strategic goal of becoming a member of the eu. this is the first secondly, there are challenges for the budget and the government must continue to implement the budget firmly in order to ensure the large expenditure required under the current circumstances, it is also necessary to keep the debt stable, how to do this... immediately implement the national revenue strategy because revenues are needed to support spending,

additional steps are likely to be needed to secure revenues throughout the year and be prepared to do so, as well as borrowing domestically to fund the government, and that brings me to number three: donors should continue support, funds must arrive on time, untimely arrival of donor support pushes the government to suboptimal economic policy and puts all achievements at risk. indeed, the imf continues to finance ukraine, recently a tranche of 900 million dollars did not arrive, however, there is uncertainty regarding bilateral aid, how long can ukraine last without large aid packages? it is important to provide funds on time. in 2023, donors provided funds on time, this is a great achievement in terms of negotiations on large aid packages in the us and the eu, i must say that it is happening within budget processes. can they always be timely? certain difficulties arise, both

the us administration and the european union are committed to getting these packages through the budget process and providing the funds, it is very important, we also emphasize, that the appropriations must come in on time. you mentioned timely aid, will there be the first few months of next year ? certainly, we expect donor support to come in the first quarter, also at the end of the year, the ukrainian authorities... have taken measures to ensure liquidity buffers, they also monitor the budget very closely in the first few months to avoid problems in case donor funds are delayed. recently , ukrainian president zelensky mentioned the impact of military spending on the economy, according to him, six taxpayers are needed to finance one soldier, so is the new mobilization too expensive for ukraine. we maintain and monitor the budget as a whole, not individual expenditures, and we and donors

help the government of ukraine in times of war to carry out basic functions, such as defense vulnerable sections of the population, payment of wages, pensions, education fees, etc. this is what the 122 billion financing program is aimed at. but, if additional expenses arise because of the war, are donors ready to increase their support? i always emphasize very clearly, we expect to. internal revenues were generated, with the strengthening of the economy, economic activity is supported by structural reforms, better governance, which will provide additional tax revenues. waiting for ukraine. one difficult year, which will be the biggest challenges we expect that the ukrainian economy will continue to grow, and macroeconomic and financial stability will be preserved. we are fully convinced that the government and the national bank will deliver the result, they are really doing great economic policy, this will be a key element. we are also convinced that ukraine will continue to implement structural

reforms that will boost economic growth in the medium and short term. a favorable environment for private investment, these are important things for the coming year. unfortunately, i must add that there is extreme uncertainty because of the war, and this uncertainty will remain. however, everyone was surprised how well ukraine manages the economy in these conditions of war, what progress has been achieved in the medium term to strengthen the economy, make it more sustainable and develop prosperity. this is a good start for 2024. the year will be difficult, i am not saying that it will be ordinary. but i have great respect for the partners we support in achieving these goals. many observers call the us presidential election one of the most important events of 2024. president joe biden calls this election a battle for america's soul. his campaign

focused on threats to democracy, access to abortion and economic issues. however , the main thing... of the current american president is that he is an alternative to donald trump, about the preparation for the elections and the strategy of joe biden in the race, maria ulyanovska will tell. with the election season in full swing, joe biden is trying to convince americans that he has made their lives better. the president emphasizes that through his bills, he created jobs and protected women's right to abortion, improved the gun safety situation, and made efforts to protect. one of the current president's campaign tactics is to choose to comment on things that concern ordinary americans, in conditions that allow him to cover several topics at once. for example, when at an event in philadelphia, the birthplace of the us constitution, biden told firefighters about how his house was once saved from burning, or when the president

visited the district of one of his most ardent detractors from the republican party to talk about how much... today we celebrate investing in jobs in congresswoman lauren bobek's district. she is one of the leaders of the maga movement, and like all her republican colleagues, she voted against the law that made these job investments possible. or at an event celebrating rural job growth in minnesota, when he shared his experiences as a grandfather with a local woman. from his office in the white house, biden seems confident of his chances of defeating a more likely opponent, former republican president donald trump. do you think there is anyone among the democrats who could beat donald trump besides you? there are probably as many as 50 of them. i'm not the only one who can beat him, but i will beat him.

for many us voters, numbers matter. pollsters say they're most concerned about the economy, but many ... also point to a number the biden administration can't change, his advanced age. biden is 81, about four years older than trump. on election day, he will be for 5 years older than the oldest us president in history, ronald reagan. sociologists from the democratic party say that it is age that weighs down biden's chances. currently, in states that are not clearly republican or democratic, trump is leading. electorate. not comfortable with the age of any of our candidates, i think the age factor is part of a wider dissatisfaction with history repeating itself. voters say: "oh, no, just for that, is it going to be trump vs. biden again?" this confrontation will take place for the second time, and none of the candidates is a survivor. donald trump, who was nominated a number of criminal charges, campaigned mainly during his

numerous court appearances. he plays, if it does not sound strange, on the feeling of nostalgia. trump says that when he was president, prices were lower, there was no war in the middle east, russia did not invade ukraine, china was less powerful, etc. biden also added more inclusive comments about trump to his campaign. yes, the president recently pointed to trump's words that he would be a dictator. in the white house, the voice was announced america that such comments are wrong. here's how trump explained what he meant. you can make a promise today. to america, never abuse power to get back at someone. except for the first day. what it means? i want to close the border and allow the... this stark contrast between the two candidates is exactly what they and the other republican candidates are betting on.

one thing is clear: if one of them wins, american voters will know exactly which president they will get. anita pavel, maria ulyanovska, for voice of america. and we finish issue with a story about a small library in the village of stodultsi in vinnytsia region, which from the first day of the war became a local aid center for the armed forces. volunteers from the usa have now donated more than a hundred new books to the library. in recent years, its fund was practically not replenished with new editions, so a parcel with books was greeted as a holiday in the village. local residents say that such a gift inspired them to read more and help the ukrainian army even more actively. iryna shinkarenko will tell in more detail. to the nearest post office, the director of the village library she drove half an hour to stodultsi in vinnytsia to

pick up packages from volunteers from the usa. meanwhile, it became crowded in the small room of the village library, fellow villagers gathered to wait for gifts. no, we were so lucky, so christmasy. a gift for well, i just don't have words for how nice and how unexpected it is, and i really couldn't believe it until the end, until i heard from the new post office that the package had arrived. library to read. boxes of more than a hundred books for readers of different ages and genres, from

children's encyclopedias about animals to modern publications on the history of ukraine. every month right? for such a small library as stoduletska, such a gift is simply happiness. the library is four years old, he says, during this time they bought only 15 new copies, so new books are really a miracle for the peasants, books are not in stock now, especially such... we are now writing off all russian literature, so if we write it all off, and you really need to get rid of it,

then we will have maybe a thousand books left, and even then they are like that, especially children's books, they are already very old, they are already 40 and even 50 years old, although there are less than 400 people living in stodulci, old books... they have already read many times, the director of the library is sure that there will be a queue for new editions, hope, a gift for the library was made by the members of the book club, created by ukrainians from the american diaspora, before the winter holidays they organized a book donation campaign, but to take part in it, the participants had to pay a contribution to library from 30 dollars, firstly, to do a good deed, to help buy books in ukraine and also to donate them. a christmas story to people who are here, that is, you pay $30, admission, this money goes to purchase books, but at the same time you give a new year's

gift to a person from another state, for example, my gift flew to atlanta. club members collected almost a thousand dollars, for which they placed an order in a ukrainian bookstore. the biggest contribution was made by victoria, who has lived in the usa for a long time, says that her first childhood memories are connected with the library from ukraine. i believe that we, as volunteers , should support ukrainians and ukrainian society not only in the military sense, but also in the cultural sense, because as cherchy once said, if there is no culture, then what will we fight for, the ukrainian book affects how people think, and thoughts affect our actions, and actions somewhat affect the future, to help the library from stodulci, volunteers from the usa decided... by posting an appeal on social networks with the question: which institution needs books. already later, benefactors found out that she was small the library is not only a place for reading, but also

a center of assistance to the ukrainian army. villagers gather here to volunteer for the needs of the military. my husband works as a shepherd , he was in the war, he was wounded, he and i leave at 4-5 o'clock, we leave, i smoke in the village council, he goes to the kindergarten, then i run home, milk the cow, send my grandson to school, then lesya ivanna calls me, i have to come, let's come, help in whatever way we can, because it's very hard for me, because my husband has been fighting since the age of 14, and i want to help at least in some way. the peasants organized themselves, to deliver camouflage nets, baking and preservation to the front lines, and closer to winter , the library took care of light and heat on the front lines. the candles themselves are trench, salt warmers based on acetate and fire starters. lighters are the same cotton pads, just

soaked in paraffin. patriotic color, and if i only have a free hour, i run to help knit nets, and when i can't come, i don't leave my mother, then i sit at home, tear all these rags, cut them, bring them, the girls knit nets, we untie the old ones sweaters, whoever brings something from home, they knit us these warm socks, we pass them on, the girls pass them on for our defenders, so that their feet are warm. our volunteers march. the stodulytsk library is also a village creative club. there are people in the village, they don't have such a big choice where to spend their leisure time. therefore , today the library is very much a leisure center. here, many different types of work are carried out in this library. here and at

the local one. choreography, children's groups, and dancing, and performances, it was more, of course, in peacetime, here children also draw, color, and read, and we conduct quizzes, new books, says the librarian, will help both children and adults to distract themselves from anxious emotions and even more inspire them to help those who are at the front, on a considerable number of their fellow villagers are now in the front line. iryna shynkrenko, tetiana kukurika, serhiy rybchinskyi, vyacheslav filyushkin, kostiantyn golubchyk, the voice of america will break moscow's shackles, and we will cheer up our glorious ukraine. download the voice of america mobile application. automatically

bypass blocking thanks to the built-in vpn service, read news, watch informative programs and videos, and also listen to podcasts of the ukrainian voice of america service. and on this we will say goodbye. thank you for trusting the voice of america in ukrainian. i wish you a peaceful night and a peaceful morning. see you soon, see you soon. greetings, i am asking for your help in searching for this boy, his name is oleksandr korsonskyi. sashko is 13 years old and he disappeared in temporarily occupied horlivka, donetsk region. it happened in the summer of this year, namely august 17. and imagine that since that time

there is no news about the boy. where and with whom he is now unknown. of course, it is not excluded that sashka could be taken to russia, as, unfortunately, often happens with children in the occupied territories. but this is only an assumption, and in fact the boy may still be in the occupation, or we should not rule out the possibility that the child ended up in the territory controlled by ukraine, but for one reason or another cannot report himself. so i am asking absolutely everyone, especially residents. occupied neck, which can see this video in social networks. look closely at sasha's face. if you recognize the boy, do not delay and please notify us immediately on the hotline of the child tracing service at the short number 1163. calls from all mobile operators in ukraine are free. if it is inconvenient or there is no possibility to call, you can write to us on the website or in the chatbot.