Love knows no boundaries as Ukrainian ties the knot amid war

By Jeyhun Aliyev

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) – Love knows no boundaries or circumstances, as members of a rescue team tied the knot in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa during the ongoing Russian war in the country.

The was no fluffy white wedding dress and groom suit, only the couple's pure love brought them to the wedding ceremony amid the country's continuing war.

Under martial law in the country, the groom, a rescue team member from Ukraine's State Emergency Service, married the daughter of another rescuer in Odessa while still dressed in his work outfit.

"And they want to win this country? A country where children are born in shelters, and new families (are formed) and the future of our state is created in the assembly halls of fire brigades," the service’s Main Directorate in the region announced the news on Facebook.

It underlined that under martial law, the heads of the Main Departments have the right to marry employees.

"There are no obstacles to love, (as) today the newly formed Rudkovski family proved it," it added.

"He is a rescuer from Odessa, and she is the daughter of a rescuer from Odessa. They have long desired and planned for this. And they were very upset that because of this situation everything would have to be postponed. But their friends and colleagues decided to surprise them and organized a wedding for them," the statement said.

It also emphasized that nobody who came to Ukraine with a weapon can "take away our dreams, our thirst for freedom, our sense of humor, and our love!"

"Ukraine above all," it concluded.

Russia's war on Ukraine has been met by outrage from the international community with the EU, UK, and US, among others, implementing a range of economic sanctions on Moscow.

According to UN figures, at least 331 civilians have been killed and 675 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24.

More than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.