Certain Easter peace prevailed in Ukraine's capital when St. Michael's Cathedral opened for worship. The golden-glowing dome shone in the spring sun, but the worshipers still looked gloomily at the ongoing Russian invasion war – despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's declared "ceasefire" for 30 hours.
38-year-old Gratjova told the AFP news agency's correspondent that she had heard about Russian breaches of the ceasefire.
Terrorists can't be trusted, Natalia chimed in, a 41-year-old medical student.
If they found something sacred, they wouldn't kill civilians and start this horror.
Many visitors
The Orthodox Easter, which this year coincides with our Easter holiday, gathers many visitors for a moment of reflection in churches, cathedrals, and chapels. Many brought Ukrainian Easter cakes that were blessed by priests through sprinkling of holy water; a moment of hope.
But Putin's statement about the weapons falling silent due to "humanitarian considerations" is not worth a thing according to Natalia:
I support an end to the war, and all initiatives that lead in that direction. But I see no signs of relevant responses from the other side, she says.
Strong support
The support for President Volodymyr Zelensky's response to Moscow's ceasefire proposal appears to be strong among those attending the worship service.
Our president has clearly said that if they declare three days, we'll declare 30 days. Let them respond to that, said railway worker Sergij Klotjko, adding a thoughtful postscript that "let this terrible war come to an end, so our people, our soldiers, our children, stop dying".
Both Moscow and Kyiv have announced that breaches of the short-lived ceasefire will be responded to.
Some clashes may stop for a short while, but the war won't end that quickly, said Volodymyr Jaroslavskyj, who dressed up in a embroidered shirt for Easter.
