A Ukrainian couple who have been together for 22 years and have joined the fight against invading Russian forces have been married on the front line.
Lesia Ivashchenko left her job when the war with Russia started last month and joined territorial defence forces to defend her district on the outskirts of Kyiv.
A soldier holds a helmet as a wedding crown during the wedding ceremony. ( AP: Efrem Lukatsky )
She had not seen her partner, Valerii Fylymonov, since the beginning of the Russian invasion until Sunday when the pair officially tied the knot.
"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 organised right on the defence 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."
Taras Kompanichenko, a well-known Ukrainian artist who is a volunteer in the territorial defence force, plays music at the wedding. ( AP: Efrem Lukatsky )
"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."
Former Ukrainian heavyweight boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko (right) congratulates the couple. ( AP: Efrem Lukatsky )
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his brother, boxer Wladimir, came to congratulate the newlyweds.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the ongoing resistance was putting Ukrainian statehood in jeopardy and likened the West's sanctions on Russia to "declaring war".
The couple's fellow fighters surprised them with a more elaborate ceremony than they expected. ( AP: Efrem Lukatsky )
With the Kremlin's rhetoric growing fiercer Russian, troops continued to shell encircled cities and the number of Ukrainians forced from their country grew to 1.4 million.
Vautlo on March 7th, 2022 at 04:44 UTC »
The shot of that musician, Taras Kompanichenko, dressed in military gear while playing his instrument... What that photo illustrates is quite surreal, much like many other shots from this invasion. Just people who, if not for the invasion, would be going about their lives, playing an instrument or taking their dog for a walk, not wearing combat helmets.
jaetran on March 7th, 2022 at 04:23 UTC »
Although pretty uplifting, it’s absolutely terrifying how what we are seeing now is the stuff you read about in history books and think would not repeat itself.
SignificantHippo8193 on March 7th, 2022 at 02:13 UTC »
This shows that even in the most trying of times people try for happiness. This is what the Ukrainian people are fighting for and why the rest of the world must give them all the support they can muster. For them this isn't about fighting a war, but trying to live a meaningful life.