If Ukraine marked his third Easter in warRussia launched a barrage of drones concentrated in Ukrainein the east where the situation on the front line is deteriorating. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians in an Easter speech to be united in prayer and called God an “ally” in the war with Russia.
UkraineThe Air Force said this on Sunday Russia had launched 24 Shahed drones, 23 of which were shot down by air defenses.
Six people, including a child, were injured in a drone strike in the eastern Kharkov region, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
The Kyiv Independent reported that a total of four people were killed and 19 others injured in attacks resulting from rocket and drone strikes in the past 24 hours.
Fires broke out when debris from shot down drones fell on buildings in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. No casualties have been reported.
Officials in Kiev urged residents to follow Orthodox Easter services online due to security concerns. Serhiy Popko, head of the Kiev city government, warned that “even on such beautiful holidays we can expect bad acts from the aggressor.”
Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to unite in prayer for each other and for the soldiers on the front lines.
In a video filmed in front of St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev, wearing a traditional Vyshyvanka embroidered shirt, Zelenskyy said that God “has a chevron with the Ukrainian flag on his shoulder.” With “such an ally,” Zelenskyy said, “life will surely win over death.”
A majority of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christians, although the church is divided. Many belong to the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church was loyal to the Patriarch in Moscow until it split from it Russia after the 2022 invasion and is viewed with suspicion by many Ukrainians.
In Moscow, worshipers, including president Vladimir Putin On Saturday evening, Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior was packed for an overnight Easter service led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and an outspoken supporter of the Kremlin.
Eastern Orthodox Christians usually celebrate Easter later than Catholic and Protestant churches because they use a different method for calculating the date for the holy day that marks the resurrection of Christ.