AIR raid sirens wailed and one of the brides wore camouflage trousers as the army took a break from frontline fighting in eastern Ukraine to hold a double wedding yesterday.

Two young couples, who met just months earlier while serving in the army, tied the knot together in small town Druzhkivka, 40km from frontline zones where Ukrainian forces are battling Russian invaders.

The sun shone and soldiers carried bouquets in a brief interlude from heavy fighting, as Russia intensifies efforts to push out Kiev’s forces in the east.

One of the brides, Khrystyna Lyuta, 23, a contract soldier with the rank of private first class, wore army boots and camouflage trousers with a traditional red Ukrainian blouse embroidered with flowers.

“I have gotten used to this uniform,” she explained of her choice of outfit.

She met her husband Volodymyr Mykhalchuk, 28, just two months ago, when he was mobilised. They live about 5km from each other in the same south-western Vinnytska region but might never have met if it had not been for the war.

“War is war, but life goes on,” said Lyuta.

“This was not a hasty decision,” said Mykhalchuk.

“The main thing is that we love each other and we want to be together.”

The other bride, Kristina, 23, who works in the signals corps, opted for a traditional long white dress with red folk embroidery to marry Vitaliy Orlich, 23, a sniper.

“I believe that this is about creating a new family – it does not matter where it happens or how,” she said.

The grooms both wore soldier uniforms.

The couples were set to return to serve in the war zone on the same day.

“I cannot give them free days as such. The only thing is that they will not be on the frontline, they will stay in the rear,” said brigade commander Oleksandr Okhrimenko.

Neither couple had family present but said relatives have been understanding.

Kristina said her husband spoke to her mother online and “she already calls him a son”.

The soldiers were from the 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade, which has been fighting Russian-backed forces in Donbas since last month.

The couples married in front of a registry office, which closed due to the war.

The quiet street had few cars and occasional trams. Sandbags were piled up in front of cafe and shop windows.

‘There is no time’

The young couples went through traditional rituals such as stepping together onto an embroidered towel, symbolising togetherness.

The brigade chaplain gave them an Orthodox Christian blessing, flicking holy water and placing crowns on their heads, on the day of a major Church holiday, the Festival of the Holy Trinity.

Priest Yuriy Zdebskiy said “it is the first marriage in the brigade in wartime”, since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

“Now it is wartime and there is no time for big celebrations.”

Okhrimenko has the right to certify marriages under martial law.

He said the location for the weddings “was chosen primarily for security reasons”.

Druzhkivka is about 40km as the crow flies from three fronts, as Russian troop threaten the towns of Sloviansk to the northeast, Bakhmut to the east and Gorlivka to the southeast.

Hours later, AFP reporters heard shelling and saw smoke rising as the two sides exchanged fire close to Bakhmut.

Even in relatively untouched Druzhkivka, shelling tore apart private houses and crashed through the roof of a Baptist church in one street earlier this month.

Air raid sirens went off three times during the wedding, an AFP reporter heard.

None of those attending reacted. Many war-hardened locals ignore warnings to go to shelters now unless there is an obvious threat. – AFP, June 13, 2022.