One of the first shells that fell on Bobryk hit the church's roof. It exploded, leaving a massive hole in the roof, debris chopped walls inside and the holy pictures. Then the Russians came shooting at the houses, and Bobryk was under occupation.

In April, the Russians departed as suddenly as they had appeared. Three people died during the occupation. Now it is Easter, and for the first time, this community does not celebrate it in their church.

The priest prepares for the rite on the road and then goes to his parishioners.

Before the war, he travelled for prayers here from Kyiv, but as the Russian army approached Kyiv, the parishioners brought him to their village for his safety. That is why they were all the more surprised when Bobryk fell under occupation a few days later.

This experience united this small community even more. The priest decided to stay here, and now he preaches referring to the war, occupation and what they have gone through.

Some people cry. Others nod sadly, but you can see they are happy. They managed to survive. After the blessing, they say goodbye and go home to celebrate Easter.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is officially under the Moscow Patriarchate. After Russia attacked in 2014, some congregations broke away and established their Ukrainian patriarchy.

This community, however, did not do so and continued under the official and traditional patriarchy in Moscow. But now, after Russian troops shelled the church, they decided that this was the end, and they wanted to return to the traditional rite under the Constantinople patriarchate.