Moscow and other Russian cities are canceling or shortening New Year’s celebrations in order to direct money to the armed forces sent by Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, Insider writes.

Officials in St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, the Tomsk region of Siberia and Yakutia canceled their New Year’s ceremonies, according to The Telegraph. This comes amid complaints that fighters sent from the front lack equipment.

Dmytro Denisov, the mayor of Kaluga, a city in western Russia, announced on social media that he had canceled all New Year’s concerts, fireworks and decorations. “We will direct all these funds to support the citizens of Kaluga who were mobilized. Our people must be properly equipped,” he said.

The governor of Tomsk (Siberia), Volodymyr Mazur, said that there should be no “corporate” New Year holidays, but children “can’t do without holidays and gifts.” In Russia, gifts are usually given on January 1, a few days before most Russians celebrate Christmas on January 6.

In Moscow, according to Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, the scale of the ceremonies will be reduced – no concerts will be organized and there will be no fireworks, which are traditionally held on New Year’s Eve in the Russian capital. The mayor of Moscow says that the money will go to the military. In September, Moscow authorities were criticized for organizing a grandiose fireworks display for the city’s 875th anniversary.

The war that Vladimir Putin launched in Ukraine on February 24 has become increasingly unpopular among Russians, with the Kremlin leader accused by activists of spending billions on the Russian army to invade Ukraine while many of them are freezing at home.