Highlights
- A Russian-born man and a Ukrainian woman tied the knot in Himachal Pradesh's Dharmshala.
- They got married last month on August 2, but registered their marriage yesterday (September 5).
- The couple urged the two countries to "make love, not war" on the occasion of their marriage.
Russia Ukraine news: Amid an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, a Russian-born man and a Ukrainian woman tied the knot in Himachal Pradesh's Dharmshala on August 2. The duo met in Israel, fell in love, came to India, and got married under the Special Marriage Act of India. The couple urged the two countries to "make love, not war" on the occasion of their marriage in Dharamshala.
Alona Burmaka, a 28-year-old Ukrainian woman, and Sergey Novikov, a 37-year-old man born in Russia (now an Israeli citizen) registered their marriage in Dharamshala on Monday (September 5) under the Special Marriage Act of India. They have already performed marriage rituals as per Hindu tradition a month ago.
"We come from Israel and Ukraine. We met in Israel and have been living together for six years. About a year ago we came to India and felt that this is a special place (Dharamshala) to get married by the Hindu tradition, and culture. This is not only a message for Russia and Ukraine, this is also a message for Hindu people. Once Russia and Ukraine were one nation, like brothers. We need to make love, not war. Violence is not good, it's not about the people, this is just the governments who are fighting. It needs to stop," said Sergey Novikov, the groom.
"I met Sergey in Israel and we have been together for almost six years and when we came to India, we decided to marry, to connect our souls. We like India and its culture like -- it's very deep, nice, lovely," said Alona Burmaka, the bride.
Meanwhile, SDM Dharamshala Shilp Bekta issued the marriage registration certificate to them. Bekta told the media that they register around 40 per cent of marriages of foreigners in Dharamshala under the Special Marriage Act.
"From January 1 to September 5, 2022, as many as 106 marriages have been registered. Around 40 marriages are related to foreigners, that is, a foreigner marrying an Indian citizen or Tibetan refugee," she added.
Their marriage comes at a time when their native countries are at loggerheads and are fighting a war, that started on February 24, with Russia invading Ukraine. Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves.
