Despite Orthodox Easter, Russia has again bombarded targets in Ukraine, Ukrainian military sources reported on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, asks his compatriots in his Easter message to keep believing in victory. On the occasion of Orthodox Easter, 130 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released and returned home. Andriy Yermak, the chief of the presidential office in Kiev, reported on Telegram on Sunday.
In southern Mikolaiv, two teenagers were killed in Russian bombing on the night from Saturday to Sunday, military governor Vitali Kim announced on Sunday. The head of the military administration in Zaporizhia, Yuri Malashko, also reported attacks. A church was damaged in the process, so that the service had to be cancelled. “Nothing is sacred, not even on the night of Christ’s resurrection,” he wrote.
In a video message on the occasion of Orthodox Easter, President Zelensky encouraged his compatriots to keep courage. “Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Its main symbol is victory: the victory of good, the victory of truth, the victory of life. We celebrate Easter with unshakable faith in the irreversibility of these victories,” he said .
Zelensky recalled that a year ago Ukraine had to pray for its survival as an independent nation. Since then, Russian troops have been driven from the vicinity of the capital Kiev and many other regions, but fierce fighting continues in the east of the country. “We have come a long way, but perhaps the highest mountain is still ahead of us. We will get over it,” the president assured.
Prisoner exchange
“A big prisoner exchange on Easter”, is how Yermak described the operation. He posted photos of dozens of men with the Ukrainian flag. According to Yermak, the exchange took place in several phases in recent days. There is currently no confirmation from the Russian side.
The exchange of prisoners of war is the only area on which Russia and Ukraine are currently still regularly negotiating. Last week, about 200 Ukrainian and Russian soldiers were exchanged.
Easter message Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated Orthodox Easter Sunday morning at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior, along with Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and Patriarch Kirill, the spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and advocate of the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Putin praised the Church for its “active commitment to grace and charity in times of great challenges,” mistaking a comment as a reference to the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia.
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