'Love Goes On': Ukraine Church Which Held Soldiers' Funerals Hosts Wedding

"Love will always conquer hate," Irish journalist and author Jeff Farrell reflected, as he observed a timeless symbol of romance in Ukraine—a bride and groom on their wedding day.

'Til death do us part takes on a deeper meaning in war-torn Ukraine, where some 5,767 people have died in the bloody war with Russia, masterminded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with thousands more injured.

But amid the shelling, air raids and rubble, a familiar sight graced the streets, a wedding at the Church of the Holy Eucharist in Lviv.

The city is located just 43 miles from the Polish border, where millions have fled since the conflict began in February.

And while its location in the west has meant it has been relatively unscathed, being described as a "safe haven" by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Lviv has had its share of conflict.

Bombs struck the city in April, reportedly killing seven people and injuring more, including a child.

And Russia's coordinated offensive earlier this month saw four substations in the region hit, leaving residents with no power or hot water.

Mayor Andriy Sadovy shared regular updates on Telegram saying, translated into English: "As a result of missile strikes, four important electrical substations in the territory of Lviv region were disabled.

"Therefore, we have serious problems with stable electricity supply in the city. As a result of the missile strike, 30% of Lviv is temporarily without electricity.

"There are also water supply interruptions in the Sykhiv and Frankiv districts of the city."

He added that one person had been injured in the strikes, which also saw bombs rain down on Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Lviv, Dnipro, Ternopil, Kremenchuk, Khmelnytskyi, and Zhytomyr, according to The Kyiv Independent.

Sadovy also shared poignant photos of Lviv in darkness, as he vowed: "Historical photos "Lviv without light"... Therefore, let these photos remain in history, which will never repeat itself."

Farrell, an Irish journalist, has spent a few stints in Ukraine over the past six months, reporting from the frontlines at Kyiv and Kharkiv, as well as Odesa, Lviv and Mykolaiv, sharing his journey to his website Jefffarrellonline.com.

After spending time in Izium, recently recaptured from Russian forces after a six-month occupation where detainees were tortured, according to Human Rights Watch, Farrell traveled to Lviv.

"I got out of there after several days in the area and traveled more than 1,000kms (621 miles) away to the western city of Lviv to decompress," Farrell told Newsweek.

There he remarked on the semblance of normality enjoyed by the residents, saying: "People are hanging out in bars and cafes, drinking beer and coffee, going to the opera—and generally making the most of life.

"That's despite ongoing air raids and Russian missiles that have struck the city in the past two weeks. The people refuse to be terrorized by Vladimir Putin.

"I walked around with my camera last Sunday just to take snaps of how life goes in a city in a war torn country.

"People hanging with their friends, laughing and chatting, couples walking arm in arm, kids playing."

The chart below, provided by Statista, show Ukrainian views on the war.

You will find more infographics at Statista

As he walked past Church of the Holy Eucharist, he spotted the bride in traditional white, as the newly married couple stood hand in hand.

He said: "This powerful sight caught my eye—these two looking deeply and longingly into each other's eyes after walking up the aisle.

"In Lviv the only stories I have covered in churches are funerals of dead soldiers slain in the war in the south and east, which are often daily, so this romantic sight was nice to see.

"It proved to me that love will always conquer hate and showed me the indomitable will of the Ukrainian people."

Farell, also an author, shared the photo to his Twitter account, @JeffFarrellNews. While he also captured another couple in the city tying the knot.

He captioned the original image: "Love goes on in Lviv in wartorn Ukraine. I have only seen funerals of soldiers here so this is nice to see."

President president Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted about the attacks across the country on Tuesday, saying: "Another kind of Russian terrorist attacks: targeting energy & critical infrastructure.

"Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine's power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country. No space left for negotiations with Putin's regime."

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defence (MOD) stated that Russia appeared to be ramping up its use of long-range strikes in the latest offensive, also deploying cruise missiles, Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones and air defense missiles in a "surface-to-surface role."

As winter loomed, the MOD noted Russia's apparent tactic of causing "widespread damage to Ukraine's energy distribution network."

The move comes as setbacks suffered since August appear to have ignited a desire to strike "civilian infrastructure targets," as well as military ones, the bulletin, released last Tuesday, said.

The latest development in the war has seen Russia's claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb dismissed by world powers. A dirty bomb is a conventional weapon containing radioactive material.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement from Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, on Sunday, after he spoke to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

"Secretary Blinken expressed to Foreign Minister Kuleba that the United States rejects Russian Defense Minister Shoygu's transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory and that the world would see through any attempt by Russia to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation," it said.

While the U.K. government echoed that in a similar statement from the foreign ministers of the U.S., the U.K. and France.