The band of the Ukrainian Army uploaded a video for Eid al-Fitr and even wished "Happy Holidays for Ramadan" in Turkish.
Eid al-Fitr, often called Eid, is a Muslim holiday celebrated after the end of the month of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.
The choir of the Ukrainian Armed Forces congratulated the Islamic world on Eid al-Fitr and sent a message in Turkish saying "Happy Holidays for Ramadan".
The following statements were included in the video shared by the army's social media account, as found by Directus:
"Dear Muslims of Ukraine, our soldiers and citizens and partners from other countries! The Armed Forces of Ukraine congratulates you on Ramadan and sincerely thank you for your joint efforts to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity.
"We sincerely hope that God will hear your prayers for the unity of Ukraine and the liberation of Crimea, the return of all refugees to their homes, the reunification of families torn apart by Russian aggression, and the release of all."
Watch the video:
Ukrayna Silahlı Kuvvetler korosu Salavat-ı Şerif okuyarak İslam aleminin Ramazan Bayramı'nı tebrik etti. Koro, Türkçe olarak da Ramazan Bayramı'nı kutladı.
— Yeni Şafak (@yenisafak) May 1, 2022
Meanwhile, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross began evacuating civilians from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, and the operation will continue on Monday.
“The Mariupol humanitarian operation will continue until we achieve our goals — saving the lives of our citizens,” Iryna Vereshyuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minster, said in a message she posted on Telegram, according to an NBC News translation. Around 100 civilians have been rescued so far, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
A few thousand civilians and Ukrainian fighters, mostly of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, have been holed up in the sprawling Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, and about 100,000 people still remain in Mariupol, officials have said.
Zelensky met with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a Congressional delegation in Kyiv. He called the U.S. a “leader in strong support” for Ukraine. The delegation praised the courage of the Ukrainian people during a visit to Poland. Pelosi vowed that Washington would stand with the country until it defeats Russia.
Also, First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Romania and Slovakia this week, coming within miles of the Ukrainian border.
During her trip, Biden is expected to meet with U.S. service members, embassy staff, senior officials in Romania and Slovakia, humanitarian aid workers and refugees.
The first lady’s trip follows other visits to the region by high-level U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi said additional U.S. support for Ukraine is on the way following U.S. President Joe Biden’s massive aid package proposal.
In a statement, Pelosi said the Congressional delegation met with Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelenskyy and “conveyed our respect and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his leadership and our admiration of the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russia’s diabolical invasion.”
Pelosi also said the delegation went to Poland “to send an unmistakable message to the world: that America stands firmly with our NATO allies in our support for Ukraine.”
She said the delegation will be meeting with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials to discuss how they can further work together to support Ukraine.
Elsewhere, four civilians were reported killed and 11 more were injured by Russian shelling in the Donetsk region on Sunday, the Ukrainian regional governor said that evening.
The deaths and seven of the injuries were in the northern city of Lyman, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote in a Telegram post. One person also died in the city of Bakhmut from injuries received in the Luhansk region, he said.
In the same post, Kyrylenko said that it was impossible to determine the number of victims in the bombed-out port city of Mariupol and the town of Volnovakha, which is controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists.
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