Love and life must go on despite wars and strife, this is proven by a Ukrainian couple who decided to have their marriage ceremony next to a Ukrainian checkpoint, where the groom wore a helmet while the bride wore a military uniform.
The writers Siobhan O'Grady and Konstantin Khodov - in a report published by the American newspaper "Washington post", talked about the special wedding that this couple enjoyed in the presence of members of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, who lined up carrying shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.
Also in attendance were Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who wore a flak jacket and took a selfie with the bride, as well as a throng of journalists invited to the wedding, which was held next to a checkpoint in the midst of Russia's war on Ukraine.
Despite the surreal nature of Lesia and Valery Filimonov's marriage in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday, the moment gave people a whiff of normalcy in the midst of this conflict.
The mayor said that before the war the couple were just "normal people", and taking up arms was not among their plans, and now they "want to defend their city together."
The couple, before the war, were just ordinary people, and carrying arms was not among their plans (American press)
The wedding ceremony took place at a time when the Russian forces continued their incursion into the Ukrainian capital, and the death toll was rising, the latest of whom was a number of civilians who were killed on Sunday while trying to flee the neighboring suburb of Irbin in a mortar attack.
With shops and businesses closed across the capital, civilians joined the fight en masse, and many, like the Filimonov duo, joined the Ukrainian Army's all-volunteer Regional Defense Forces.
Before the war, Lecia was head of a scouting organization, while her husband ran an information technology company.
They joined the defense forces because everything they love is in that country, and they have to defend it, and they have no intention of giving up their country for the enemy, as Lycia puts it.
Wedding Ceremony
The wedding ceremony began with the bride walking down the aisle in a simple veil over her short hair, and Ukrainian artist Taras Kompanychenko performed in a military uniform.
This was the first time the couple had met since the war began late last month.
"It's hard to call it unconditional happiness in this situation, but we certainly feel relieved," said Lecia.
The marriage was supervised by Reverend Dmytro Karan, and he wore his robes and his cross over his uniform.
The couple held a candle, while Karan practiced a marriage ritual that involved spreading incense and having the couple hold hands and walk in a circle together, and when the moment came to place the crown on the bride's head, an attendee put a military helmet over her head instead.
The couple walk together amid widespread media coverage (American press)
"As a priest, I cannot use any weapon. But I carry weapons of a different kind, such as rituals, confessions, prayers or even holding wedding ceremonies like this," Reverend Karan explained. "My duty is to be with the soldiers who are fighting for our land, and to give to them Moral support".
Like other weddings, the couple also received gifts from the attendees. An attendee gave them an electric kettle, a suitable gift for a couple working in harsh conditions on the front line, while another guest gave them a pressure cooker.
When the wedding ceremony ended, flower petals fell from a drone overhead, and the crowd chanted the national anthem.
The guests carried weapons in one hand and white roses in the other, and went one by one to congratulate the newlyweds, and each of them handed the flowers to the bride.