The letter is written on a piece of paper from a school notebook. Handwriting is neat and diligent. “My name is Artem, I’m 14 years old.. I live in the Kharkov region in the Chuguevsky district. Helping my parents, studying to become a tractor driver. I love dogs and cats. I ask Saint Nicholas to bring me sweets and mittens."

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Artem is one of forty children from the front-line Kharkov region who wrote letters to St. Nicholas. Children from 8 to 18 years old. In their village of Prolisne, Chuguevsky district, it is forbidden to gather children in groups - this is a decision of the local administration made for the sake of safety. Clubs and sections are not working, the stadium and surrounding area are mined.

Artem is a very modest boy. He dreams of a moped because he lives separately from his mother, but in the letter he only asked for mittens.

His father was shot by the Russian military at the beginning of the occupation in 2022. The family could not take the body for burial for six months.

“This boy became an adult very quickly,” says psychologist Svetlana Borisyuk.

It was she who initiated the letters to Nikolai. Svetlana suggested writing them to her wards - children from the Chuguevsky district. Two days later I received forty letters. And these were forty little stories, warm and touching.

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Letters to Nikolai.

Misha, 15 years old. Together with his large family he left Kupyansk. Stepfather serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A boy dreams of a boxing set - helmet, gloves, punching bag.. But he never asked Nikolai for it.

“Good afternoon, Nikolaychik. I left Kupyansk three months ago - then my mother was crushed by debris. After the explosion, my grandmother was seriously injured, her lungs were punctured, and her health deteriorated.. I really ask for conditioner for her - it makes breathing easier. This would be the best gift and great support for us"

Svetlana asked her grandmother about the air conditioner, and she confirmed: “Yes, it’s very necessary.”.

Arina will turn 18 at the end of December. Survived domestic violence, boarding schools, orphanage.

“Dear Nikolai, this year I will go to study at the academy to become a primary school teacher, now I’m looking for an apartment to rent. I need a lot of things: blanket, pillow, bed, pots, frying pan. Please help me arrange my rented apartment. If you are reading this letter, then I wish you a good mood. Although I am no longer a child, I still believe in miracles, and especially in St. Nicholas."

For most 18 year olds, this is a household shopping list.. For Arina - a list to freedom.

Veronica, 8 years old. The father was wounded in the war, and the girl is very worried about him, because the wound is serious.

“I really want my dad to get well. I also have a cat, her name is Zoya. She is very playful. I wanted to ask you for a suitcase. To go to see my friend in Ternopil. I'll be careful with my suitcase. Thank you for the warm gifts and joy for the children.”.

The dream of a suitcase is a little hope for travel that will give carefreeness, explains Svetlana. After all, this is what childhood should be filled with..

Zlata, 11 years old. This girl's family suffered from the war. The father is considered missing, the mother created another family - she married a second time and gave birth to a son.. Grandfather at the front near Pokrovsk. In fact, the girl is being raised by her grandmother.

" I really want to listen to music and dance. My most cherished dream is for my father to return from the war (he has been missing for three years now). My grandfather also defends our native Ukraine. And I also really want to have a music speaker with a flash drive. I wish everyone a peaceful sky above their heads"

Kira Sergeevna, 13 years old. Loves order in everything and dreams of working in the police.

“I always try to help others, but at the same time I do not forget about the support of loved ones. As a gift for St. Nicholas's Day - Adidas sneakers, size 38, I've been wanting them for a long time. )) Women's. I’ve been dreaming about them for a very long time.”.

Svetlana adds: “Kira is one of those children who clings to life. She just needs a little support so she doesn't fall."

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Anya, 10 years old. Daughter of a military man.

“I like to ride my bike and play with friends. And I really want a laptop as a gift so I can study. Can be used. Because my old one crashed. And I also want peace to come."

Zhenya, 17 years old. I was once fond of football and dreamed of a big field. Now he is the support of the family, because his father has been fighting since 2014.

“Good day or evening to you. I am Evgeniy, I am 17 years old, before the war I was in the youth football club " I would like to ask Nikolai to give the Ukrainian people a peaceful sky, and also, if it’s not difficult for him, I will give me a power supply for the computer.”.

But there are letters in which children do not ask for anything for themselves..

" I am turning to you with only one desire: for the war to end quickly, for the missiles, suicide bombings and worries to disappear. So that my father can finally be found"

“Dear Saint Nicholas, my name is Vladislav, I am 13 years old. I dream that you will help our soldiers, so that my father will definitely be found and return home safe and sound. I ask you, stop the bloodshed and give peace to Ukraine. I believe that you can hear me! Best regards, Vladislav"

Is this how a child should formulate his dreams “The pain of war will not be reduced by any gifts of peace,” says Svetlana. And she admits: “I thought they would ask for something small. But these letters... They are difficult to read without tears. They are full of war, trauma and requests that cannot always be called children’s, because children ask Nicholas for peace in the country, for extremely urgent needs for loved ones, or simply for the opportunity to study.”.

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Safety island.

Svetlana works at the Confidence Center for Psychological Assistance, whose specialists support front-line communities in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions as part of the project “ObiyMi for You,” which has been implemented since March 2025 with the support of UNICEF and financial assistance from the European Union. The apartment that Svetlana rents in the village of Prolisne has turned into a small island of safety for children living in the reality of war.

Children who survived the occupation come to her. Children whose parents are at war or missing. Children with disabilities, from large families, family-type orphanages. Those whom the war made adults too early. These children are studying online for the sixth year.

“I have children who, at the age of 11, almost cannot read, because first there was quarantine, then war and occupation, and now shelling,” says Svetlana. — There are children with suicidal thoughts, there are those who lost their parents, those who were torn apart by the war. Each of them carries pain within itself, often such that even an adult cannot withstand it.”.

Letters to St. Nicholas are therapy for her clients. But Svetlana decided to set herself a task with an asterisk and do even more for the children: find for each one their own Nikolaychik who can make their wish come true.

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And a miracle happened.

When Svetlana shared her childhood letters with her acquaintances, and they shared them further down the chain with their acquaintances, something happened that every time seems like a real miracle: complete strangers to her without hesitation became Nikolai.

The bulk of the children's letters to Nikolai were taken by the Kiev family - Olga and her husband. They also posted the children's requests in the chat room at home, and their neighbors responded. Svetlana turned to her friends: so the military from the Kharkov region, students of Nizhyn University, where the psychologist teaches, and the team of the Confidence Center for Psychological Assistance got involved.. Everything without conditions. No questions asked. They just said: “We will do it”.

“We’ve already bought the gifts,” Svetlana says now, barely holding back tears.. On December 6, Kira will receive sneakers, Anya will receive a laptop, and Arina will receive pots for her dorm room.

Yes, not a single gift will bring back Artem’s father or cure Misha’s grandmother. Won't stop the war overnight. And yet forty children will feel: they were heard, they were taken care of, their dreams are important. And this means that the fairy tale exists. And all wishes will definitely come true.

Svetlana says she will collect letters next year too. Because children don't stop dreaming just because we're tired.. And Nikolai with a heart full of love will always be found!

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