海角大神

As bombs fall on Easter, a Ukrainian chaplain ministers to his front-line flock

Father Vitalii Kuzin rides a run-down jeep as he crisscrosses farming villages in eastern Ukraine, armed with his Bible and a plastic bottle full of holy water. His sermon to the troops is brief and to the point: 鈥淗old on.鈥�

It鈥檚 Easter Sunday, and there鈥檚 no time to linger 鈥� he has 17 units to visit between sunrise and sunset.

鈥淐haplains always have a lot of work, but on Easter you must visit everyone,鈥� he says between stops. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the fourth Easter of this war and everyone asks me, when will this stop? I tell them we are in God鈥檚 hands. ... My main message is endure, be patient, and don鈥檛 lose faith in the victory.鈥�

With flowers blooming and birds chirping, war feels distant, although the closest front line is a short drive away. The hardships of war are clearly etched on the scarred, tired faces of men gathered for prayer. But the priest is one of them; he is welcomed with warm smiles, bear hugs, and handshakes.

Father Vitalii joined the Ukraine Armed Forces the day after Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion began. While Father Vitalii was growing up in Rivne, his father, a railway engineer and former Soviet soldier, had discouraged him from pursuing a military career of his own. Instead, he insisted that the young man become a priest to enjoy a calm life. 鈥淎s a dutiful son, I complied,鈥� the chaplain says wryly.

Now he serves in the Military Chaplaincy Service of Ukraine 鈥� part of a larger, institutional push for structured spiritual support to men serving on the front. Modeled on the American and British systems, it was established by a law passed in late 2021 and launched in October 2022. It has approximately 350 members.

The fledgling military chaplaincy has become a vital pillar of emotional and spiritual support for exhausted soldiers. For troops stationed near Pokrovsk 鈥� where the thud of artillery and the buzz of drones are never far off 鈥� priests like Father Vitalii offer more than prayers. They bring continuity, comfort, and a fleeting sense of home to troops navigating loss and uncertainty.

鈥淎t the start of the war, many criticized God,鈥� says the chaplain. 鈥淣ow everyone wants a blessing. Everyone wants to pray, because it is part of their hope.鈥�

That shift in perspective is not uncommon among the troops Father Vitalii visits.

Soldiers spare no effort to follow rituals with the limited supplies in their bucolic bases. At each stop, the sturdiest tables are deployed as altars, decorated for Easter with crates of eggs and sugar cakes with rainbow sprinkles 鈥� small reminders of normalcy and the homes for which these worshippers are putting their lives on the line. Helmets double as bowls.

鈥淢any in our unit rely on God to carry on,鈥� says 2nd Sgt. Serhii Piaryn, the commander of a machine gun platoon, who has been serving on the front lines near Pokrovsk for over a year. 鈥淲e are not ashamed to say it: When we are being shelled so hard by the enemy, we turn to prayer. Prayer is the only protection when you are in the trenches.鈥�

For a soldier like Vasyl, a man of faith assigned the code name 鈥淒emon,鈥� the chaplain鈥檚 visit brings vital comfort. He has lost more than 20 brothers in arms 鈥� only counting those he considered 鈥減ersonally close鈥� 鈥� in the fight for the strategic city of Pokrovsk. The experience of entering battle knowing that men under his command will likely die shook his faith.

鈥淭his makes me feel at home,鈥� he says of the Sunday sermon held in a courtyard for his unit. 鈥淚t reminds me of how I used to celebrate Easter with my family during childhood.鈥�

Religious Ukrainian soldiers endure multiple tests to their faith. The chaplain says the men he counsels are typically coping with the grief of losing fallen brothers in arms and sheer exhaustion. But the rawest struggle for many is the fallout from marital infidelity.

鈥淭he key thing for a soldier鈥檚 well-being, to feel less vulnerable, is knowing that he has all the weapons and ammunition needed for the task,鈥� stresses Father Vitalii, who says he uses every opportunity to appeal for more weapons from the West. 鈥淎dequately equipped soldiers do not fall into despair.鈥�

Few see an end in sight, due to Russia鈥檚 long history of aggression toward Ukraine. But Easter Sunday coincided with a declaration of an unexpected, 30-hour truce by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The announcement came shortly after Washington warned that it could scrap its efforts at peace talks unless Moscow and Kyiv showed they were serious about negotiating.

鈥淭his is the first night in a while when it is kind of quiet,鈥� says Maj. Oleh Panasiuk. 鈥淩ussians usually attack our positions with motorized vehicles and scooters or by foot. There were no assault attempts on our position overnight. This kind of silence is usually associated with rotations. We don鈥檛 think it is due to the ceasefire.鈥�

An infantry unit in the same brigade endured three assaults in the first half of the day. But while that unit鈥檚 experience was an outlier in an otherwise relatively quiet day, it became the norm as night set in, with glide bombs and artillery shelling pounding areas west of Pokrovsk almost immediately after midnight.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian forces launched 26 assault operations between midnight and Sunday noon, with intensified fighting in the Pokrovsk and Siversk sectors. The Palm Sunday attack is still top of mind here.

Speaking in his daily address, Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is documenting each ceasefire violation and intends to submit the evidence to international partners. He also called for increased diplomatic pressure on Moscow, urging allies to push for a 鈥渞eal ceasefire鈥� 鈥� even if only for 30 minutes.

An antidrone radio unit the chaplain visited Sunday skipped prayers completely. Their eyes remained glued on screens monitoring the movements of Russia鈥檚 first-person view (FPV) drones, which strike fast and allow pilots to see what the drone sees in real time. The Ukraine Armed Forces reported a doubling of FPV drone activity on Sunday despite the truce.

鈥淲hile Putin is alive, he will do everything to have war,鈥� says the chaplain, as he sets off for the final round of sermons. 鈥淲ithout [Western] help, we cannot make it.鈥�

Oleksandr Naselenko supported reporting for this article.