Jewish couples wed in mass ceremony in Kyiv during recent Ukraine-Russia ceasefire

Dozens of Jewish couples were married in a mass wedding ceremony in Kyiv during the recent three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Young and old couples, including a pair of 92-year-olds, came together in a ceremony at the Beit Menachem Jewish Community Center in a celebration that would have been impossible during the months of intense fighting, the JCC says in a statement.

The event followed a holiday weekend ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that provided respite for the city and allowed families from across the community to gather for the ceremony.

Several couples had lived together for years but delayed marrying according to Jewish law because of the war, now in its fifth year, the representative says. The temporary calm enabled them to formalize their unions surrounded by family.

Kyiv Chief Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch says the event was one of the most moving moments the community has experienced in recent years.

“To witness a couple aged 92 entering the chuppah is not something ordinary,” Markovitch says. “We have been living for a long time under the shadow of war, with uncertainty and daily challenges becoming part of normal life. And specifically within that reality, people are choosing to pause and declare: we are continuing the chain of generations, preserving our tradition, and building a Jewish home.”