Preparations for the Ryzjaks' wedding had been going on for some time.
Leonid, 43, has been stationed as a soldier in Pokrovsk on the front line in the east, where he has been part of the units that fly drone bombers against the Russian invasion forces.
At the turn of August and September, he was given time off and went home to his fiancée Ljudmyla, 33, in Kyiv, which was under escalating attacks. When the couple went to the authorities to book a wedding ceremony, the alarm went off over attacks, so the registry office had to close.
This happened for six days in a row. Finally, when the attacks subsided due to the arrival of the US envoy in Kyiv from Moscow, they managed to book a morning slot for Tuesday last week.
As they went to bed on Monday night, the alarm went off in their neighborhood.
Had to be dug up
Leonid and Lyudmyla were awakened by a bang. A Russian airstrike had hit a warehouse across the street. The blast shattered their windows, set curtains on fire, and smashed furniture.
They immediately fled, taking Ljudmyla's six-year-old daughter and two hamsters to the nearest shelter. The cat had run and hidden.
Russian missiles and drones continued to pound Kyiv for five hours.
In the morning, the family went back up to their destroyed apartment. The white, embroidered dress that Ljudmyla had ironed the night before had to be dug out among the rubble and splinters. The fabric had lots of tiny holes.
Leonid found his national costume shirt with embroidery matching the dress, but the pants were buried. He took the army camouflage pants.
No guarantees
New attacks raged on Tuesday morning. The cat reappeared. A well-dressed bride and groom stepped out of their devastated home.
"It's okay, we'll get through this," said Leonid.
If God gave me a continuation of life, why would I postpone it? Because someone ended it. And who can guarantee that this won't happen again tomorrow? That there will be a tomorrow for us? Here and now I at least have the right to be happy. Both he and I, said Ljudmyla.
At the appointed time, 10:40 a.m., they were ready at the wedding venue. The air raid warning sounded again. They had to wait another three hours.
"I didn't even have time to finish renovating my house," Leonid joked when they finally got married.
"I've never experienced such a spectacular day," said Ljudmyla.
