More than 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released as part of a major Easter exchange with Russia, a top official said Sunday, as Orthodox Ukrainians marked the holiday for a second time since Moscow unleashed its brutal full-scale war last February.While celebrations were subdued due to security risks, with a curfew barring the faithful from customary all-night services, Ukrainian authorities and ordinary people shared messages of hope, linking the story of Jesus맥스카지노� resurrection to their longing for peace and a Ukrainian victory.Dozens of families had special reasons to rejoice, as presidential adviser Andriy Yermak announced that 130 soldiers, sailors, border guards and others captured by Moscow were on their way back home following a 맥스카지노�big Easter prisoner exchange.맥스카지노�Yermak said in a Telegram post Sunday that those released included troops who fought near Bakhmut, the eastern mining city which has for months been the focus of Russia맥스카지노�s grinding offensive.맥스카지노�The lives of our people are the highest value for us,맥스카지노� Yermak said, adding that Kyiv맥스카지노�s goal was to bring back all remaining POWs.There was no immediate information on how many Russian prisoners were released, but the press service of the founder of the Wagner Group, the Kremlin-affiliated paramilitary force whose fighters are prominent in eastern Ukraine, also released a video Sunday showing Ukrainian prisoners of war being readied for an exchange.The video, published on the Telegram messaging service, features Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin instructing a soldier to prepare the Ukrainian captives to leave Russian-controlled territory 맥스카지노�by lunchtime맥스카지노� on Sunday. The POWs are then shown boarding trucks and walking along a road.In his Easter address released on Sunday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the holiday as marking 맥스카지노�the victory of good, the victory of truth, the victory of life,맥스카지노� and he stressed what he said was Ukrainian unity in the face of Russian aggression.맥스카지노�Belief in victory unites all of us always, and especially today. At Easter, which from time immemorial has been a family holiday for Ukrainians, a day of warmth, hope and great unity. We are one big family 맥스카지노� Ukrainians. We have one big home 맥스카지노� Ukraine. We have one big goal 맥스카지노� victory for all,맥스카지노� Zelenskyy said.Ukraine's top soldier, Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyy, likewise drew parallels between the Christian message of resurrection and renewal and Ukraine's hopes for victory.맥스카지노�Easter is a holiday of great hope. Hope that will bring us peace. I believe that together, united, we will overcome the enemy,맥스카지노� he wrote in a Facebook post. He also thanked all front-line soldiers who he said will 맥스카지노�hold the defense in the trenches, stay in the dugouts, (...) carry out combat duty" as the rest of the country celebrates.In central Kyiv, people gathered in the courtyard of the landmark St. Michael맥스카지노�s Golden-Domed Monastery on Sunday morning to have their Easter eggs and baskets of food blessed by a priest. A curfew had prevented most from attending the traditional all-night service there hours earlier, with many tuning into a live stream instead.Ukrainian churches are usually crowded on Orthodox Easter Sunday. But this year, the wide courtyard was barely half full, and the line of people waiting for the priest to sprinkle holy water on their adorned baskets was moving briskly.For a second year in a row, Moscow's brutal war has interrupted holiday routines. Ukraine's main security service this week issued a statement urging residents not to linger in churches on Sunday, in order to avoid crowding and minimize security risks.Alla Voronina, one of the people who came to St. Michael's with baskets containing Easter cakes and multi-colored eggs, said that the restrictions were 맥스카지노�very hard" on residents' morale.맥스카지노�You constantly recall how it used to be before the war," she told The Associated Press. She said that she and her family would nevertheless follow the security recommendations and go straight home after receiving the blessing.Others in the line echoed Zaluzhnyy's words about a wartime Easter being a symbol of hope.맥스카지노�As never before, Easter at a time of war inspires us with hope and faith in the future, in the victory of Ukraine, in God맥스카지노�s protection of our Motherland,맥스카지노� said Inna Holivets.Another worshipper, Tetiana Voloshyna, said she was praying for Ukrainian troops 맥스카지노�who defend us and make it possible for us to have this holiday.맥스카지노� She added she had come to the monastery with her 맥스카지노�personal pain and personal requests to God for victory, peace and life.맥스카지노�