A Ukrainian couple, who were together for 22 years and have joined the fight against invading Russian forces, married on the front line.
When the war with Russia broke out last month, Lesia Ivashchenko quit her job. She joined the territorial defense forces to defend her district on the outskirts of Kyiv.
At a checkpoint in Kyiv, the Ukrainian couple tied the knot in a military-style ceremony.
Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and a former world heavyweight boxing champion, was among the guests.
She hadn’t seen her partner, Valerii Fylymonov since the Russian invasion began until Sunday when the two married officially.
Modest ceremony
“It is very sad that this (the Russian invasion) happened to us, that our family cannot be together,” she said after the wedding ceremony that was organized right on the defense line in Kyiv.
“I’m happy that we are alive, that this day started, that my husband is alive, and he is with me.
“We decided who knows what will happen tomorrow. We should get married in front of the state, in front of God.
“And we have an adult daughter, and I think she’s happy that we finally did it.”
“I expected to have a very modest ceremony. I thought we’ll just will say ‘yes” to each other.”
“It was a surprise from my brothers in arms and our commanders that they decided to set it (the marriage ceremony) up to show that, despite everything, we believe in the future and life is going on.
“We are determined to push back the enemy and take back our lands and win.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the country’s statehood was in peril. Thereby, comparing Western sanctions against Russia to “declaring war.”
The Kremlin’s rhetoric is becoming more aggressively Russian. The forces also proceeded to shell besieged cities, bringing the total number of Ukrainians displaced to 1.4 million.