Liudmyla Ryzhak carefully prepared her wedding dress and her fiancé’s traditional Ukrainian shirt the day before their long-awaited marriage.

After several postponements because of the war with Russia, she was finally just hours away from marrying Leonid Ryzhak, a Ukrainian soldier, in a ceremony in Kyiv.

But overnight, a Russian strike hit a warehouse across from their apartment building. The powerful blast shattered the apartment’s windows, damaged the home and scattered furniture, putting their wedding plans in doubt.

The couple later searched through the rubble for their wedding clothes. Liudmyla pulled her white tulle skirt from beneath the debris, brushing away broken glass.

Strike follows visit by US envoys
The attack came shortly after US envoys visited Ukraine on Sunday, following a temporary pause in Russian attacks. The strikes resumed later with drones and missiles, with explosions reported across Kyiv for nearly five hours overnight. Attacks continued into Tuesday.

Despite the danger, the couple decided not to let the war stop their wedding.

Leonid had recently returned to Kyiv from the front lines in eastern Ukraine after spending months serving there. Liudmyla said she did not want to postpone happiness when life could change at any moment.

"If God gave me a continuation of life, then why should I put it off?" she said. "For someone, it ended. And who can guarantee this won't happen again tomorrow?"

The blast woke the couple and blew out the apartment windows. A curtain was left burned and hanging in pieces.

Their ears ringing from the explosion, their first concern was the possibility of another strike. They rushed to a shelter with Liudmyla’s 6-year-old daughter and two guinea pigs. Their cat, frightened by the blast, had hidden and could not immediately be found.

The couple escaped unharmed. A second strike hit while they were already in the shelter, but their apartment was left uninhabitable until repairs can be completed.

Friendship grows into love
Liudmyla and Leonid first met three years ago through mutual friends. Neither was initially looking for a serious relationship, and both had children from previous marriages.

Their friendship gradually became a romantic relationship. Liudmyla supported Leonid during his deployments to the front, while their bond grew stronger.

Leonid serves with a team operating bomber drones in the Pokrovsk area. He came to Kyiv for a long-awaited vacation about a week and a half before the wedding, just as frequent air raid alerts and daytime attacks began disrupting the capital.

For six consecutive days, the couple went to the registry office but were unable to complete their paperwork because of repeated air raid sirens.

They eventually managed to submit their documents and were given Sept. 8 as their wedding date. Neither expected their apartment to suffer heavy damage on the same day.

It was not Liudmyla’s first experience with a Russian attack. On Aug. 20, another strike damaged her home, cutting gas lines and shattering windows. She was so frightened that she avoided returning for some time.

But daily responsibilities eventually brought her back. The wedding was approaching, and the children needed to attend school.

Another attack interrupts wedding ceremony
Despite everything, the couple dressed for their wedding and headed to the registry office.

Leonid tried to keep the mood positive, saying the most important thing was seeing his bride smile.

"It's fine. We'll get through it," he said.

Outside their damaged apartment, the courtyard looked almost like a disaster zone. Thick black smoke rose behind a colorful children's playground as neighbors cleared away debris.

Some neighbors stopped to congratulate the couple.

"We should all be celebrated, that we survived," Liudmyla told them.

The couple reached the registry office at 10:40 a.m., as planned.

Leonid wore a traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirt known as a vyshyvanka, matching the pattern on Liudmyla’s dress.

He could not retrieve his black trousers and shoes from the rubble, so he wore army trousers and black sneakers with fluorescent yellow soles and laces instead.

Liudmyla’s white tulle skirt also bore tiny holes caused by the broken glass and debris she had pulled it through.

Soon after they arrived, another air raid siren sounded. The registry office closed temporarily for safety, leaving the couple waiting outside in the courtyard.

Explosions could be heard nearby as attacks struck surrounding districts and fires broke out. Nearly three hours later, the alert ended, allowing the couple to return inside.

Couple marry despite the destruction
Before entering the ceremony hall, the couple exchanged nervous jokes.

"I didn't even get to finish the repairs at home," Leonid joked, referring to their badly damaged apartment.

"I've never had such a spectacular day," Liudmyla replied.

The ceremony finally went ahead. The officiant told them, "Love is when two people become a team."

Moments later, Liudmyla and Leonid officially became husband and wife.

"We're gaining a new life, because we survived," Liudmyla said.

She said the day could have ended very differently, adding that if they had not survived, she would not have been wearing her wedding dress. Instead, she said, someone might have been choosing darker clothes for her funeral.