Ukraine: See how soldiers and citizens marked Christmas in a war-torn region

A boy sits during a Christmas mass at an Orthodox Church in Bobrytsia, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. Sunday began with the sound of sirens, but that didn't prevent people from gathering in the church and attend for the first time a Christmas mass on Dec. 25.

Members of the Ukrainian scouting organization Plast hold the Bethlehem Light of Peace during a Christmas church service in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022.

Ukrainians attend a Christmas mass at an Orthodox Church in Bobrytsia, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. Sunday began with the sound of sirens, but that didn't prevent people from gathering in the church and attend for the first time a Christmas mass on Dec. 25.

FILE - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, center, accompanied by the head of the Ukrainian Church Metropolitan Epiphanius, right, visits the Mikhailovsky Zlatoverkhy Cathedral (St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral) in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 21, 2021. Ukrainians usually celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, as do Russians, but some Orthodox Ukrainians have decided to observe Christmas of 2022 on Dec. 25, like many Christians around the world.

Ukrainian army medics Eugenia and Oleksander embrace after their wedding ceremony in Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022.

Ukrainian battalion commander Kosyantyn Zhydkov "Kostya Dziu," center, shows his operational area Saturday to Serhiy Melnyk "Marsel," left, a general of the Ukrainian army, and "Dyadya Roma," right, a Ukrainian brigade commander, at a front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine.

Soldiers from the Azov Regiment, several members of which were captured by Russia in May after the fall of Mariupol, demand their fellow soldiers be freed at a prison-style Christmas table Saturday during a flashmob demonstration in Kyiv, Ukraine. Relatives of Azov soldiers hold posters reading "Bring Azov back."

An artist dressed as a Cossack holds his guitar after performance for Ukraine's National Guard soldiers to mark Christmas at their position close to the Russian border near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday Dec. 24, 2022.

A chaplain blesses a soldier to mark Christmas at Ukraine's National Guard position close to the Russian border near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday Dec. 24, 2022.

A group of artists perform for Ukraine's National Guard soldiers to mark Christmas at their positions close to the Russian border near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday Dec. 24, 2022.

A chaplain blesses Ukraine's National Guard soldiers to mark Christmas at their positions close to the Russian border near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24 2022.

Municipal workers set a Christmas tree to decorate a square for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Mariupol, in Russian-controlled Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022.

Relatives of soldiers from the Azov Regiment, who were captured by Russia in May after the fall of Mariupol, demand to free them at a flashmob action near St.Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. Writing on posters reads "221 days in captivity".

People walk past a Christmas tree decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities in Mariupol, in Russian-controlled Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022.

Fellow-in-arms of soldiers from the Azov Regiment, who were captured by Russia in May after the fall of Mariupol, demand to free them at a prison-style Christmas table during a flashmob action in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. Relatives of Azove soldiers hold posters reading "Bring Azove back".

Relatives of soldiers from the Azov Regiment, who were captured by Russia in May after the fall of Mariupol, sit at the Christmas table in a flashmob action under the Christmas tree demanding to free the prisoners, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022.

Local people buy and sell food ahead of Christmas and the New Year festivities in Mariupol, in Russian-controlled Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022.