Ukraine Army shares images of 'holiday gifts' for Russia; here's what it is

Armed Forces of Ukraine on Sunday made "holiday gifts" for Russian soldiers during Easter and shared them on social media to send a strong message to the invading forces as they marked the festivities. Several images of the explosives painted to look like Easter eggs were shared on the official account of the Operational Command Pivnich (North). In the photos, the soldiers can be seen painting ammunition using brushes with the paint as they wrote text that demonstrared the Ukrainian resilience and bravery to defend their land. Soldiers of Ukraine painted the national symbols with different vibrant colours. 

"No one can break the spirit of our Cossack ancestors," Ukraine's operational command wrote online, sharing the photos. 

This year frontline pysankas be like. Let the next Easter be celebrated by all Ukraine's defenders home, with their families, in victorious Ukraine, in peaceful Europe! We need tools to finish the job
Photo: Operational command "North" pic.twitter.com/Aozj5cvLsu

— Olena Halushka (@OlenaHalushka) April 16, 2023

Easter eggs, also called as Paschal eggs, are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter. This year the festival was celebrated on April 16 in Ukraine. Soldiers marked the festive holiday with decorating the ammunition such as grenade launchers in shape of eggs as a "gift" for the Russian soldiers who launched a "special military operation" earlier last year in February. Ukrainian fighters mostly painted the grenades in the Ukrainian national colours to make them look like the Easter eggs, Ukraine's Operational Command North wrote on its Facebook page.

Credit: Facebook/Operational Command Pivnich (North)

Credit: Facebook/Operational Command Pivnich (North)

Credit: Facebook/Operational Command Pivnich (North)

Credit: Facebook/Operational Command Pivnich (North)

President Vladimir Putin observes Orthodox Easter in Moscow

Orthodox Christians, in both Russia and Ukraine, observed the Orthodox Easter on Sunday. An estimated 78 percent of Ukraine's population follows the religion of Christian Orthodoxy. Ukraine's Orthodox Church, in fact, split with Russia officially over its alleged links to Kremlin. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin also marked the festivity as he attended the midnight service observing Orthodox Easter in the Capital city of Moscow.

Russia's Orthodox Church head, close to Putin, Patriarch Kirill, had previously voiced strong support for the ongoing war. On Sunday, he addressed the Russians in a state television speech on Easter, calling the military intervention in Ukraine as the "grave events taking place on our Russian historical land," the Associated Press reported. On occassion of Easter, Russia's shadowy mercenaries group, PMC Wagner released around 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) back to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram that over the course of last few days, 130 Ukrainian fighters had returned in "several stages".