(28 Mar 2022) Relatives and friends gathered at a church in the Ukrainian city of Lviv to pay their respects to two soldiers who died fighting against the Russian invasion.
The funerals of Lieutenant Pavlo Chernikov and Roman Valkov, were held at St Peter and Paul Garrison Church on Monday.
Standing at the side of his grave as her 32-year-old son Pavlo was laid to rest, Myroslva Chernikova said: "You were the best son in the world. I bow to you (thank you) for allowing Danic (his brother) to live without shooting over his head."
"I'm proud of you my son. Thank you for everything (my) child," Chernikova said.
Friends of 47-year-old Roman Valkov, who was also interred on Monday, said he had died on 16 March in Popasna in the Luhansk region but that they had only been able to find his body by identifying his tattoo when they visited a morgue in Dnipro.
The funerals came as Ukraine's president said the country could declare neutrality, potentially accept a compromise on contested areas in the country's east, and offer security guarantees to Russia to secure peace "without delay."
But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said only a face-to-face meeting with Russia's leader could end the war.
While hinting at possible concessions, the leader also stressed that Ukraine's priority is ensuring its sovereignty and preventing Russia from carving up the country.
That is something Ukraine and the West say could now be Moscow's goal. The Ukrainian leader has suggested as much before, but rarely so forcefully.
The latest remarks could create momentum for talks set to resume Tuesday.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
