More than 100 prisoners of war were freed after being captured in Russia.
Orthodox Christian worshipers and their traditional Easter baskets are blessed during Easter Sunday at the Pechersk Lavra monastic complex Kyiv, Sunday, April 16, 2023.
“The lives of our people are the highest value for us,” Yermak said, adding that Kyiv’s goal was to bring back all remaining POWs. “Belief in victory unites all of us always, and especially today. At Easter, which from time immemorial has been a family holiday for Ukrainians, a day of warmth, hope and great unity. We are one big family — Ukrainians. We have one big home — Ukraine. We have one big goal — victory for all,” Zelenskyy said.
For a second year in a row, the war interrupted holiday routines. Ukraine's main security service this week issued a statement urging residents not to linger in churches on Sunday, in order to avoid crowding and minimize security risks. Another worshipper, Tetiana Voloshyna, said she was praying for Ukrainian troops “who defend us and make it possible for us to have this holiday.” She added she had come to the monastery with her “personal pain and personal requests to God for victory, peace and life.”
Kirill has repeatedly spoken out in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a video message broadcast on Russian state television late Saturday, before the start of the Easter service in Moscow, Kirill lamented “grave events taking place on our Russian historical land” in reference to the war, echoing the Kremlin’s claim that an independent Ukraine is essentially a fiction.
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