Ukrainian newlyweds vow to defend their country
Yaryna Arieva discusses her and her husband's decision to move up their wedding and join the Ukrainian Army
Yaryna Arieva and her new husband decided to have their wedding early after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine. After declaring their love and saying their vows, the couple vowed to defend their country.
Arieva and her husband, who signed up for the Ukrainian Army the day after their wedding, are now fighting Russian troops on the front lines.
"I was born in Kyiv," she said on "Fox & Friends" Friday.
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"I have my property and my family and my loved ones in Kyiv. And that’s just my land, my city, and I will protect it from anyone."
Arieva told host Ainsley Earhardt her husband is on a combat mission, and she didn’t know where he was at the time of the interview.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks as fire and smoke rise over a building following shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 3, 2022. Russia has launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
"Right now, it’s the end of the second day of his absence, so I hope he will come back today in the evening or maybe tomorrow in the morning," she said.
Arieva’s husband lived in occupied Crimea and saw the influences of Russia. She said he didn’t want to see it happen in the next city he moved to.
The couple was living in different cities when Russia invaded, and Arieva said they didn’t want to sit at home worrying about what could happen to the other.
"So we decided to get married to support each other, to care about each other and to help each other," she said.
Their wedding, however, wasn’t without obstacles.
"The war has changed all the plans," she said, noting that it was difficult to find a priest. The couple was also unable to get an official marriage certificate.
People look at the gutted remains of Russian military vehicles on a road in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Serhii Nuzhnenko)
Arieva’s mother finally found a priest willing to marry them.
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"It was the best decision I could ever make because it made us closer, even more kind of soulmates than we were before," she said.
"It was a really good decision."
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