ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Ukrainian couples are getting married despite the backdrop of the Russian invasion

Share

In several acts of defiance, Ukrainian couples have decided to tie the knot, despite the incredibly stressful Russian invasion in their country.

Lesia Fylymonova and Valerii Filimonov recently walked down the aisle near a checkpoint in Kyiv. She wore camouflage to the wedding, while he was carrying a rifle for the ceremony.

“Of course I'm happy,†said Fylymonova, translated from Ukrainian. “I'm happy that we are alive, that this day started, that my husband is alive, and he is with me.â€

Both Fylymonova and Filimonov are members of the Ukrainian defence force and decided to get married after 20 years and a child together.

“We live in challenging times,†Filimonov said. “You never know what’s going to happen to you tomorrow.†

Among those in attendance for the wedding was Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

“Every Ukrainian has just one goal: to stop the war,†he said.

Fylymonova and Filimonov aren’t the only couples to continue with their wedding plans despite the invasion.

Yaryna Arieva, a resident of Kyiv, and her partner got married on the day of Russia’s invasion. They spent their wedding night together, then joined the Ukrainian defence force the next morning.

“We wanted to get married on the sixth of May, but the war has started and we changed our decision and our plans,†she told CTV News Channel.

“We wanted to be together, to help each other, to care about each other and to cover each other’s back.â€

Arieva hadn’t held a gun before joining the fight, while her husband had some experience with firearms, though no military training. 

Meanwhile, in Lviv, about 540 kilometres west of Kyiv, Bohdan and Iryna Manko went ahead with their wedding as well.

“Difficult times, but we are optimistic,†Bohdan said. “We are fighting strong and we will win.†

“We didn't cancel our wedding because we hope for the better future to rebuild our country.â€

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.