An unexpected statistic, but one that gives balm to the heart. Despite the war, many Ukrainian men and women are getting married. In Kyiv, as in other cities, couples parade.
“In my regiment, many of us jumped in and asked permission to come and get married,” Viktor, in military uniform, told AFP. Here, the uniform rubs shoulders with traditional Ukrainian dresses. “The war makes us change our plans, it has accelerated them,” summarizes Karina, his fiancée.
“We can see that life goes on”
Despite the express ceremonies and the limited number of guests, the guests are interested in these emotional moments. “My feelings are shared, explains Valentina, a witness for the couple. It is still joy, because a new home is going to be created and we can see that life continues.”
Like Viktor and Karina, there are many stories of couples who decide to get married before going to the front or on leave. In May, Viktoria told the BFMTV antenna about meeting her and marrying Andrii in the Russian-occupied town of Boutcha in March and April.
Eight times more weddings in Kyiv in five months
These unions have been highlighted as symbols of the resilience of the Ukrainian people, since the first weeks of the conflict. And their number continues to rise: in Kyiv, the increase is even more impressive with 9,120 marriages registered in five months. This is more than eight times more than the 1,110 ceremonies that took place during the same period in 2021.
This trend is felt across the country. In his Poltava region, in east-central Ukraine, there were 1,600 marriages in the first six weeks after the invasion, compared with 1,300 in all of 2020.
Source: BFM TV
