Another way to fall in love with a city or a place is through the people. Father Andriy, just hints that he is going to Kramatorsk to wed someone. Viera doesn’t even ask much, Catherine takes it for granted that we’re going with him. We also load the cameramen – Evgeniy and Andriy with cameras. We drive out of Sloviansk to stop in front of a small family house with a cross on the roof. We go inside. We have yet to get permission to film the wedding party. But which ones?! 30 years they have been together. It’s wartime, and they want to renew their pre-marital vows. The bride is beaming, the groom is almost always silent, but even he has tears in his eyes at the end of the ceremony. Catherine reads the liturgical readings, the cameramen receive a reprimand from Father Andriy for remarks spoken aloud during the transfiguration. We increase the number of wedding guests by 100% with our presence. Father Andriy substitutes for the entire choir and provides musical accompaniment with his singing. The room is heated with gambits just for this event – I burn my down coat on them. But what is this compared to witnessing the wedding of two mature people who have decided to stay together until death do them part in a city that is constantly bombarded by bombs and shelled by the Russians.
You won’t believe what Kramatorsk is going through today:
„In Kramatorsk, street names associated with the aggressor’s country have been renamed. The discussion lasted from December last year until February 2023“, reports the Kramatorsk City Council. From now on, the main street is named after Stepan Chubenko. Stepan was 17 years old when he was shot by DNR militants at a checkpoint in 2014. Stepan Viktorovych Chubenko was a Ukrainian schoolboy and patriot, goalkeeper of the football club „Avangard“, tortured and shot by militants of the pro-Russian terrorist organization „DPR“. For his pro-Ukrainian stance he was awarded the distinction of People’s Hero of Ukraine. Pushkin Park is now renamed as Family Park. Dvirtseva Street, which has caused a lot of controversy among the residents of Kramatorsk, has also been renamed. Now it is called Dvirtseva – Avenue of Insignificance“.
The bride and groom are still signing the minutes and we are offered sweets from the „Roschen“ collection – made from the best Ukrainian chocolate produced by Petro Poroshenko, the unsuccessful presidential candidate who was defeated by Zelensky.