Featured Image Credit: Yaryna Arieva/CNN/Twitter
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin
A young Ukrainian couple reportedly rushed their wedding so they could join the country's defence against Russia.
On January 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin sent troops across the border, marking the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
As the crisis escalates and enters its third day, Ukrainian couple Yaryna Arieva and Sviatoslav Fursin decided to bring forward their wedding, not only because of the country's uncertain future, but so they could help together.
As of today, February 26, nearly 200 fatalities have been reported, and 1,000 wounded, as Ukrainian forces have been battling to keep Russian forces out of Kyiv.
'The situation is hard. We are going to fight for our land,' Arieva told CNN. 'We maybe can die, and we just wanted to be together before all of that.'
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'We have to protect it. We have to protect the people we love and the land we live on. I hope for the best, but I do what I can to protect my land,' she added.
However, the young couple are unsure what tasks they will be given when they start. 'Maybe they will just give us armor and we will go and fight. Maybe we will help with something else. They will decide.'
Arieva said her new husband is her 'closest friend on Earth', and hopes they can celebrate properly in the future. 'Maybe [Russia] will just get out from our country and we will have an ability to celebrate normally. I just hope that everything will go normal and we will have our land, we will have our country safe and happy without any Russians in it,' she said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has also said any 'friends' from abroad who want to fight against Russia are welcome, and that Ukraine will supply them with weapons.
The Ukrainian president has also taken to Twitter to declare that the country 'must' join the EU.
'We are successfully holding back the enemy's attack. We know that we are defending our land and the future of our children,' he said.
While Putin's forces continue to move across the country, the Russian president is said to be prepared to hold talks with Ukraine.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information