The Easter celebration in Kyiv entered the curfew. In the Cathedral of St. Michael, the faithful stayed awake until 5 am last night. There is no lull on the front line in the Donetsk region, only small breaks for rest. The chaplain brought Easter cakes to the soldiers.
“So many people can go to church and be in their homes in peace and freedom. It’s all thanks to your actions. Thank you,” the military chaplain told them. Yevhen Savchenko.
‘I believe in peace’
To be at home, in freedom, is the dream of many Ukrainian soldiers. And tired in the trenches in the east of the country, while the Russian troops are approaching them, they still hope for victory.
“I think we will progress. And then we will celebrate Easter in the Urals in Russia. Everything will be fine, victory is on our side,” said the optimistic Ukrainian soldier Dmytro.
Numerous Ukrainian churches were destroyed, such as the cathedral in Odessa. Many are under Russian control. In Mariupol, which fell after a three-month siege, Easter the remaining, but also some new residents celebrate.
“Of course I believe in peace. You should always believe in good because it always defeats evil,” he believes Ludmila Černetsova from Mariupol.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyotherwise Jewish, in a traditional Ukrainian shirt in front of the thousand-year-old Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, called for unity and prayer.
‘Ukrainians only kneel in prayer, never in front of the occupiers’
“We believe that God has marks on his shoulder with the Ukrainian flag. And with such an ally, life will definitely win over death. Ukrainians only kneel in prayer. Never in front of conquerors and occupiers,” he said.
Hundreds of Russians knelt in Moscow’s cathedral. At the liturgy led by the Russian Patriarch Kiril, there was traditionally also Vladimir Putin. Regardless of Easter, Russians are fully prepared for the big Victory Day parade on May 9. On the holiday, thousands paraded through Red Square in rehearsal.
“The country must remember what we fought against, what we are fighting against and what we will fight against. That is why we definitely need a parade, and not only in Moscow,” says a resident of Moscow. Kiril Emelianov.
The parade is traditionally a symbol of showing Russian power, and for the last three years it has also been an attempt to emphasize military achievements in Ukrainewhich is expected this year as well.
