since the start of the war in Ukraine, the number of marriages has exploded

It’s a traditional Ukrainian wedding. The bride is in white. A grandmother lays a cloth on the ground on which the spouses place their feet. Exchange of rings. A sip of white wine. Except that this Tuesday, July 26, Miron knows he can be called into combat at any time: “It’s war, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I had the medical examination for the army, I have my military record but for the moment I am not mobilized.”

“We have to show the enemy that we are strong, that we are not afraid. And that we will start our families, and continue to live.”

Miron, newlywed

at franceinfo

His wife adds: “We had been together for three years, we had planned to get married. But the war came and we decided to get married sooner than expected.”

In this district of Ivano Frankivsk, in western Ukraine, marriages have tripled since the start of the war with Russia. And the advice to the young spouses of Myroslava, which hosts the ceremonies, has changed quite a bit: “The woman today has new responsibilities. You have to know how to love and forgive. Soldiers who return from war are psychologically disturbed. This is why the woman can do everything. Heal with her love, with her attitude towards her man , with her understanding. The woman must be a psychologist”.

While the fights don’t let up in the south of the country, the weddings are still full of joy here in the west, full of kisses, but with a certain seriousness too that perhaps did not exist so strongly there is still some months. Nearly 100,000 unions have been celebrated in less than six months in Ukraine, an exploding figure. What can the spouses wish for? “Peace is the main thing. Let us sleep peacefully and with peace, we will have the rest”, summarizes the bride.