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Kharkiv, Ukraine — For many Ukrainian soldiers, the war with Russia has led to heartbreaking separation from their families, but for others love has blossomed on the frontline.
It was love at first sight when Yulia Nestertsova and soldier Oleg Sytnik met last summer. The young couple tied the knot on Valentine’s Day Tuesday in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
“The war brought us together,” said 18-year-old Nestertsova of her meeting with Sytnik, 27.
“He comes from the Donetsk region, I’m from Kharkiv, we would never have met otherwise.”
On Tuesday, they married in an intimate but traditional ceremony in Kharkiv’s town hall witnessed by a small group, including Sytnik’s brothers-in-arms.
After exchanging rings and signing the register, the couple took time to examine the “rushnyk” — an embroidered fabric with traditional motifs which couples keep for a lifetime.
Their smiles and the kiss they exchanged bore witness to the depth of their feelings, even though they met less than a year ago.
Since then, the couple have lived to the rhythm of Oleg’s army leave.
Yulia does not hide her “worry”, even if she tries to imagine a happy and peaceful future together.
“We are stronger together. We care about each other, we look forward to our reunions and every moment is special,” she said.
‘Entirely different story’
But further west, in a Kyiv hospital, life is different for Dmytro Lynartovitch, a soldier recovering from his war wounds.
As the 44-year-old actor-turned-fighter tells his story, he can’t help but strum his guitar to play a few of his own tunes.
Known for several film roles, Lynartovitch took up arms to defend his homeland in the early hours of the Russian invasion. He fought until January 9.
That day, in the eastern town of Soledar, besieged by the Russian army, he was hit in the face with shrapnel, losing the use of his left eye and ear.
Now, he has no contact with his wife and two young sons, who left to the United States at the start of the war.
“My wife and my children, who are over there on the other side of the ocean, will sooner or later take an interest in my health. That is what I hope and what I believe in,” he said.
“The war has separated us, as with many Ukrainians. They will come back when we have peace, but that will be an entirely different story. Because they are going to an English school, they are meeting other people.”
Despite his injury, Lynartovitch does not intend to leave Ukraine before the end of the war, even if he dreams of reuniting with his family one day.
“They will certainly have questions, they will want to ask: ‘Dad, how are you? What are you doing? We are adults now, we want to talk’.”