Ukrainians celebrate Easter amid war

Ukraine has faced intense battles, brutal air strikes and unimaginable losses, but this weekend many Ukrainians will try to celebrate one of their most important holidays of the year: Easter.

Traditionally a time of reflection and rebirth, this Sunday (24) will also mark exactly two months since the country was thrown into a devastating war following the invasion of Russian forces.

In his speech last Saturday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reflected on the significance of the date. “Today is ‘Holy Saturday’ for Eastern Rite Christians. The day between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. It looks like Russia is stuck on that day,” he said.

“On the day when death triumphs and God is supposed to be gone. But there will be a Resurrection. Life will defeat death. The truth will defeat any lie. And evil will be punished,” added Zelensky.

As fighting intensifies in the south and east, many in Ukraine are leaning on their faith for solace, while others choose to return home from neighboring Poland to be among loved ones at Easter celebrations.

“I have never been so happy in my life. When I finally saw my husband again, my first night here, it still felt like a dream,” Anna-Mariia Nykyforchyn, 25, told CNN, of Lviv, a city largely spared from Russian attack.

Nine months pregnant when the war broke out, Nykyforchyn was one of more than five million who made the difficult decision to leave. She came back two days ago with her baby Marharyta.

“For me, it was extremely important to get home before Easter,” she says, before sharing her joy at the prospect of the couple’s grandparents meeting the new addition to the family. “I really wanted us to be together. It’s a ray of hope that everything will be okay.”

Sitting on the sofa in her central Lviv apartment, Nykyforchyn looks at her 27-year-old husband Nazar, whose attention is firmly fixed on the little girl sleeping on his lap.

Anna-Mariia Nykyforchyn, left, and husband Nazar, right, look at their one-month-old daughter Marharyta / CNN “I had a very difficult experience staying in Poland both physically, because of the baby, and mentally. It was more than difficult, unbearable,” she says.

“I went into uncertainty: to strange people, to a house of strangers, to a city I’ve never been to before, to a country with a language I don’t speak fluently. I understood that I would have to give birth in a clinic where no one knows me and where I have not made any arrangements. I didn’t know what it would be like. But the main thought that kept me afloat was that my child has to be born in safe conditions,” says Nykyforchyn.

Then Nazar enters the conversation: “She’s not just a woman, she’s a heroine… if I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t be able… I would have fallen apart. And she didn’t break.

While the proud father is clearly delighted to be reunited with his wife and daughter, this young family is one of the most fortunate. Not everyone will have the same chance to be reunited with their loved ones.

The Ukrainian government has announced new curfews for the Easter weekend, amid warnings from authorities about the potential for increased Russian military activity during the holiday celebrations.

And earlier this week, officials in the Luhansk and Sumy regions urged residents to attend virtual services, citing possible Russian “provocations” as they noted that many churches were destroyed in the invasion.

Despite the concerns, Lviv residents went to the city’s churches to receive blessings of protection and prayer on Saturday.

At the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin, worshipers ignored pleas to stay at home and instead lined up with decorated baskets of food ready to be blessed with holy water by parish priests.

At the same time, Volodymyr is patiently beside his family as they wait for the priest to come down the line.

“People often think vacations are supposed to be joyful, bring relief and ease – and when they feel good they don’t turn to true faith… there are more people here than before, and that’s good for us,” he says, before showing us homemade paska (a traditional Easter bread), sausage, ham and cheese nestled between candles and decorative eggs in his basket.

“This morning there was an aerial alarm, but now thank God it’s calmer and we were able to come. It’s very important to us. It’s the church we visit often,” she adds.

Nearby, a 35-year-old Andrii church volunteer is carrying Easter food collection boxes for Ukrainian troops. “We are trying to maintain a festive atmosphere and hope for justice and peace. This holiday, Easter gives even more hope. We have to believe in victory as we believe in Jesus Christ,” he says.

Pointing to the containers, he adds: “[os soldados] will be sent to the military units that protect our land. They should have the opportunity to eat some paska and sausage.”

A gust of wind hits the beautiful embroidered fabric covering 35-year-old Maryanna’s basket. After fixing it back in place, she tells the CNN that his family heeded the warnings to stay at home.

“It’s scary and there’s anxiety in my soul. In Odesa today, there was a missile attack… But we believe in God and hope that it all ends with victory,” she says softly.

When a priest turns the corner, his eyes quickly go back to his basket. “We got a notification from city officials that people should stay home, but we can’t,” he says. “How can we not bless the Passover bread? We lost during a Covid-19 pandemic – and now people desperately need the holiday.”