Washington National Cathedral hosted a special ecumenical prayer service on Sunday with Ukrainian ambassador Oksana Markarova and Ukrainian clergy to mark 500 days since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Watch the service in the player above.
"We hope this service offers a moment of respite, and we welcome the opportunity to lift our voices together with our Ukrainian friends in prayers for peace and an end to war," the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, said in a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a mass prayer in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv Saturday evening. Representatives of the clergy and heads of religious organizations prayed for peace, Ukraine's victory and restoration of the country's territorial integrity, the presidential office said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine's resilience in the face of the Russian invasion. Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country.
"I want to thank — from here, from this place of victory — each of our soldiers for these 500 days," he said. "Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!"
Intense battles continued to rage over the weekend in the country's east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defenses in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.