Convulsed by war, tearful Ukrainians mark Orthodox Easter

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses Ukrainian people with Orthodox Easter message, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at the Saint Sophia cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine April 23, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

KYIV/KRAMATORSK (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that light would defeat darkness and Kyiv would triumph over Russia as Ukrainians marked a bitterly emotional Orthodox Easter overshadowed by the grinding two-month-old war.

Ukrainians flocked to churches on Sunday morning to mark what they call the Great Day after their centuries-old tradition of midnight Easter services was abandoned the night before over fears of Russian shelling and a nationwide curfew.