Ukrainians mark Easter with little faith in Russia ceasefire
LUKASHIVKA Ukraine AP Dozens of Ukrainians gathered outside the ruins of a damaged church in northern Ukraine on Sunday to mark Easter doubting a ceasefire with Russia is viable Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally publicized a temporary Easter truce from Saturday evening to midnight following Easter Sunday citing humanitarian reasons This came a day after U S President Donald Trump declared negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are coming to a head Kyiv has voiced skepticism about the Easter ceasefire saying it would only mirror a genuine halt in hostilities Meanwhile Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine s offer of a -day full and unconditional ceasefire and called on Moscow to respond Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed Saturday night that Russian strikes continued although with less intensity particularly near the boundary where Ukrainian forces maintain footholds in Russia s Kursk and Belgorod regions Ukrainian soldiers interviewed by The Associated Press at various frontline positions substantiated the ongoing hostilities Christ is risen In the village of Lukashivka in the Chernihiv region briefly occupied by Russian forces in parishioners of the damaged Ascension Church arrived early at a small makeshift wooden church built last year to cater to the necessities of the faithful holding traditional Easter baskets and cakes to have them privileged As the sun rose they stood quietly in the spring chill the roofless silhouette of the wrecked church behind them its pale walls scarred by shell fragments The church s priest Serhii Zezul walked among them shouting Christ is risen as he sprinkled holy water over the baskets his voice nearly drowned out by the hum of a nearby generator The restoration of the original church a th-century architectural landmark would require at least hundreds of thousands of dollars money the area doesn t have as the war rages on Since the start of Russia s full-scale invasion in February about churches across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed and at least clergy members have been killed according to Ruslan Khalikov head of the Religion on Fire project which monitors Russian war crimes against religious communities A destroyed church is a shattered soul of the group Zezul stated When churches fall the heart and core that unite people begin to collapse Marking Easter in fear More people than usual gathered in the damaged church s courtyard on Sunday Several noted they drove from cities to Lukashivka to mark Easter fearing Russian forces might target large gatherings especially after a latest string of missile strikes killed dozens of civilians For years -year-old Olha Rudeno attended church in the nearby city of Chernihiv where she got married But given the war it s psychologically formidable for me to go where there are large gatherings in cities she noted Rudeno doesn t think a ceasefire with Russia will happen Believing in a ceasefire is deceiving yourself I don t know how much time has to pass for me to truly believe one is attainable she revealed Doubt of a truce between Russia and Ukraine has deepened as U S -led efforts have so far yielded no breakthrough Moscow has effectively rejected a separate comprehensive ceasefire proposal backed by Trump and endorsed by Ukraine tying any agreement to a halt in Kyiv s troop mobilization and Western arms supplies conditions Ukraine has refused fearing they would allow Russia to regroup and escalate My personal opinion is that there will be no ceasefire commented the church s priest Serhii Zezul And even if there is one there are no details on where it would apply On the front line our soldiers are still fighting Still Zezul noted that celebrating Easter among ruins reflects the resilience of faith during war Despite everything people still gather They believe in something better We are being reborn we are standing back up Truth dependably triumphs over evil People believe that they hope for that In his Easter message Zelenskyy reflected on suffering and the struggle to hold on to faith Each of us has lived through such moments and you ask God why is this happening to us He also mentioned the deadly missile strike on Sumy during Palm Sunday and the bombardments of Kryvyi Rih Kharkiv Dnipro Odesa and other cities saying people tend to turn inward when they can t make sense of things Something invisible yet powerful within us doesn t let us give up It shows us where to find the light so we don t lose our way Source
