Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi encouraged his compatriots to celebrate Orthodox Easter. “War cannot end us, our values, our traditions and our holidays,” Zelenskyy said in a video released on Sunday. “Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. The main symbol is victory: the victory of good, the victory of truth, the victory of life. We celebrate Easter with an unshakable belief in the irreversibility of these victories.”
Just a year ago – just after the start of the Russian invasion – it was necessary to pray that Ukraine would survive, Zelenskyy said. “Today we pray for Ukraine to win.”
Putin thanks the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated the second Orthodox Easter since the invasion of Ukraine he ordered at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Along with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, the Kremlin chief attended a service by Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill that evening. A little later, the Kremlin published Putin’s Easter message. Putin also praised the Russian Orthodox Church, which is “active in the cause of mercy and charity in the face of serious challenges”. Church leader Kirill is regarded internationally above all as an ardent supporter of Putin’s war – and has repeatedly defended it in the past, among other things in sermons.
Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine on Sunday, on the occasion of Easter. “I think of our brothers and sisters in Russia and Ukraine who are celebrating Easter today. May the Lord be close to them and help them to work for peace,” Francis said in prayer before thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Attacks in multiple regions
Despite Orthodox Easter, fighting continued in Russia-invaded Ukraine. Two teenagers were killed by Russian fire at night in the southern region of Mykolayiv, local military governor Vitaly Kim said on Sunday. The head of the military administration, Yuriy Malashko, also reported a strong Russian attack in the Zaporizhia region. A church was damaged, for example, so the service had to be cancelled. “Nothing is sacred, even on the night of Christ’s resurrection,” wrote Malashko.
debate
Ukraine: How “never-ending” will the war be?
In the eastern city of Sloviansk, where a rocket hit a residential area on Friday, rescue work continued. Residents were still missing in the rubble, it was said from there. According to the latest information, eleven civilians were killed in the attack, including a small child.
prisoner exchange takes place
According to Ukrainian sources, a total of 130 Russian soldiers were released at Easter. “A big Easter prisoner exchange,” Ukraine’s head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, wrote in Telegram on Sunday. He also posted photos showing dozens of men flying the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag. “130 of our people are returning.” The exchange had already taken place in several stages over the past few days, added Jermak. Initially, there was no confirmation from the Russian side.
Prigozhin makes people sit up and pay attention
Meanwhile, the head of the notorious Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, caused an uproar with a text about a possible end to the war in Ukraine. Many Ukrainian media outlets in particular referred to a blog entry by the 61-year-old man over the weekend, which read: “Today it is necessary for state power and society to put some important point behind the operation special military”.
Prigozhin continued to write: “The ideal variant would be to announce the end of the special military operation and declare that Russia has achieved all its planned objectives – and in some respects we have indeed achieved them.” And: “For Russia there is always a risk that the situation at the front will deteriorate after the start of the counter-offensive.”
The only option at the moment is “getting stuck” in the occupied territories, Prigozhin said. However, that would mean a retreat from the Kremlin’s real war aims. Among other things, they envision the complete conquest of the four Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, which Russia illegally annexed last year.
G-7 meeting in Japan
In Japan, G-7 countries meet to discuss the war in Ukraine and China’s pro-Russian role.
G-7 discusses war
Foreign ministers from the G-7 countries met in Karuizawa, Japan, on Sunday to discuss the war in Ukraine. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Sunday as host: “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has shaken the international order to its foundations. The world is at a historic turning point.”
In addition to Japan, the G-7 group includes Germany, France, Italy, Canada, the United States and Great Britain. Japan holds the presidency this year. Japan is seeking a united front against authoritarian states that seek or threaten to use violence to change the global status quo in the face of aggression from Russia, China and North Korea.