The video was shared by the Ukraine Defense Ministry
The internet is replete with gut-wrenching visuals from war-battered Ukraine. However, even amid war, heartwarming and positive stories from the country have surfaced, fostering hope and resilience. One such clip shows a group of Ukrainian soldiers playing football in an unknown location.
The video was shared by the Ukraine Defense Ministry on Sunday. The caption of the video read, ''While there is a winter break in the Ukrainian Football League, our soldiers traditionally don't stop." In the 30-second clip, the soldiers donning heavy military uniforms are seen indulging in a football match as they have fun passing the ball around. The soldiers seem to be enjoying the much-needed break.
Here's the video:
Since being shared, the video has accumulated more than 2.4 lakh views, 12,500 likes and more than 970 retweets.
Social media users loved the heartwarming clip, with many saying that the soldiers deserve to have fun and take a break from war. One user wrote, '' Love to see this breaks my heart,'' while another commented, ''Even between the fights, Ukrainian soldiers find an opportunity for a good game.'' A third wrote, '' These guys are all heart. Wish this war would end so they could get back to their families.'' 'My dudes are in a war and they find time to play soccer in the winter with body armor still on. These guys are built different,'' wrote another.
A fifth said, ''Good for them! They deserve whatever football game they can actually play.Their lives are hard and they needed that break.''
Meanwhile, coming back to the war, Russia said on Sunday it had carried out a devastating "retaliatory strike" in eastern Ukraine to avenge a recent deadly attack on its troops. However, the claim was denied by Kyiv.
A day later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the resilience of his troops and said Ukrainian forces were withstanding "new and even tougher assaults" on Soledar, near the eastern city of Bakhmut that Moscow has been trying to capture for months. Eleven months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the outcome of the war remains unclear.