Weddings in the time of war: Ukrainians refuse to let conflict get in the way of love

In Ukraine,
a quaint east European nation pushed to the centre-stage of global geopolitics,
young men and women are in a rush to be married. At a time when nights see
entire neighbourhoods turn to rubble, civilians dying in war, millions of
people fleeing, those still in Ukraine have resolved that they will not let the
war get in the way of life. Ukraine capital Kyiv has seen 9,120 weddings in the
five months since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded the country. In the
same period in 2021, Kyiv saw 1,110 weddings, according to an AFP report.

“I could
leave for the front at any moment,” said 25-year-old Vitaliy who married
22-year-old Anastasiya. For Vitaliy, getting married amid the war is the
bravest thing one can do because, “you never know what will happen next.” Vitaliy
and Anastasia were planning to marry each other for nearly three years. “The
war goes on. It’s better to do it now,” Vitaliy told AFP.

Historically,
wartime always sees a surge in young lover’s making marital commitments. At the
peak of the Second World War, in 1942, 1.8 million weddings were registered in
the United States in a period of 12 months, an over 80% increase from a decade
earlier.

Weddings in
Ukraine are taking place amid escalating Russian aggression. In the town of
Vinnytsia, Daria Steinikova, a 32-year-old yoga teacher had been planning her
wedding to 30-year-old Vitali Zavalniuk for weeks. But just a day before the
wedding, Moscow sent a cruise missile that devastated the city. Twenty-six
people died in the attack.

“We were
shocked but determined to go through with it. It was out of question to give
up. My house was ruined, but not our life,” said Steinikova, speaking to AFP.

Daria and
Vitali have put off their wedding party for now because no one in the city is
really in the mood for one. After the wedding, however, the couple did a
photoshoot in Steniukova’s bombed flat. “It was a defiant message to the whole
world – stressing how strong Ukrainians are. We are ready to get married even
with rockets flying over our heads.”