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07th Mar 2022

Vitali Klitschko kisses bride as brave soldiers get married on Kyiv frontline

Charlie Herbert

Both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko were present at the nuptials

Two members of the Ukrainian military got married at a Kyiv checkpoint on Sunday in a ceremony attended by the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko.

Wearing military uniform, Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov got married in as traditional a ceremony as was possible, with Ivashchenko wearing a veil over her military clothes and the couple showered with flower petals.

Klitschko was present at the ceremony and offered his blessings to the couple, who are both members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces, before giving the bride a good luck kiss.

His brother Wladimir was also there, with both having their pictures taken with the newlyweds.

He wrote: “Today I greeted the soldiers of one of the battalions of the capital’s defence of the capital Lesya and Valeria. They have been living in a civil marriage for a long time, and now they have decided to get married.

“The ceremony took place next to one of the checkpoints. Life goes on! And we will protect the life of Kyiv, Kyivites, our state!”

A video shows the happy couple holding flowers as soldiers watching on shout “Glory to Ukraine!”

You can watch the lovely scene below.

“It is hard to call it unconditional happiness in this situation, but we surely feel uplifted,” the bride told the Washington Post.

The Klitschkos have both said they will fight to defend their country, and are “ready to die” for their homeland as the Russian invasion continues.

Klitschko has admitted to having already killed “at least six people” since the start of the war.

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