Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his compatriots in an address on the occasion of the Resurrection of Christ to unite in their prayers and pray for each other and for the soldiers at the front. In his words, God, who has a "Ukrainian flag on His shoulder", will make life conquer death, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
"Let us pray for one another. When we all got closer to each other, we stopped being strangers to each other," said Zelensky, dressed in a traditional Ukrainian shirt - Vyshyvanka, and traditional khaki pants, in an emotional address on the Telegram social network.
Standing in front of the 1000-year-old cathedral "St. Sofia" in Kiev, a spiritual and architectural monument of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, Zelensky noted that his country has been fighting for victory against Russia for 802 days.
"And we believe: God has a chevron (military patch - note ed.) with the Ukrainian flag on his shoulder. So with such an ally, life cannot but defeat death."
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin attended the holiday service, which was celebrated by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a staunch supporter of the Russian leader and his war in Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions driven from their homes since Putin ordered the invasion of Russia's smaller neighbor in February 2022. The war has entered its third year, but its end is still not in sight, notes Reuters.
Zelensky, who is Jewish, called for prayers above all for the soldiers who welcome Easter in the trenches to return alive and well, as well as for the land and the people, whose spirit "cannot be broken". and who, he added, will one day see Ukraine free.
"Ukrainians only kneel in prayer," Zelensky said. "Never before occupiers and invaders."