A Ukrainian serviceman from the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade lights candles during an Orthodox Christian Easter religious service, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 4, 2024.
Francisco Seco/AP
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Francisco Seco/AP
A Ukrainian serviceman from the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade lights candles during an Orthodox Christian Easter religious service, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 4, 2024.
Francisco Seco/AP
kyiv, Ukraine — As Ukraine celebrated its third Easter in war, Russia launched a barrage of drones focused on eastern Ukraine, where the situation on the front lines is worsening. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians in an Easter speech to unite in prayer and called God an “ally” in the war with Russia.
Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday that Russia had launched 24 Shahed drones, of which 23 had been shot down by air defenses.
Six people, including a child, were injured in a drone attack in the eastern region of Kharkiv, the regional governor said. said Olé Syniehubov.
Fires broke out when debris from downed drones fell on buildings in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. No victims were reported.
kyiv authorities urged residents to follow Orthodox Easter services online for safety reasons. Serhiy Popko, head of the Kiev city administration, warned that “even in such bright days of celebration, we can expect bad actions on the part of the aggressor.”
Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to join in prayer for each other and for the soldiers on the front lines.
In a video filmed in front of kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, dressed in a traditional embroidered Vyshyvanka shirt, Zelenskyy said that God “has a chevron with the Ukrainian flag on his shoulder.” With “such an ally,” Zelenskyy said, “life will definitely conquer death.”
Most Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christians, although the church is divided. Many belong to the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church was loyal to the patriarch of Moscow until it split from Russia after the 2022 invasion and is viewed with suspicion by many Ukrainians.
In Moscow, worshipers, including President Vladimir Putin, packed Moscow’s iconic Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Saturday night for an Easter night service led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and outspoken supporter of the Kremlin.
Eastern Orthodox Christians typically celebrate Easter later than the Catholic and Protestant churches because they use a different method of calculating the date of the holy day that marks the resurrection of Christ.