On January 19, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

On this day, people dive into icy waters and believe that this practice will wash away their sins, and strengthens their faith.

The footage shows Ukrainian soldiers taking a swim in the icy water.

The footage features an interview with Ukrainian soldier Alexander Skuratovsky, who is 37 years old.

Translation of the interview:

"It tempers the spirit, makes it stronger, it's a stress for the body, it washes away all the troubles that a person has, helps to clean up, to move forward for our own future, for the sake of the victory, life.
We always ask for peace in Ukraine and for victory. This tradition is 25 years old. We could not resist and came here not to break it. We'll go back to the frontline after this".

This footage was filmed and produced 19 January 2023.

On January 19, Orthodox Christians celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. According to tradition, on this day they dive into the ice hole, because they believe that Epiphany water washes away sins, strengthens the spirit and faith. The tradition is also honored by the Ukrainian military. Today they came from the front to swim in the icy water.

Interview translation:
Alexander Skuratovsky, 37 years old, Military

"It tempers the spirit, makes it stronger, it's a stress for the body, it washes away all the troubles that a person has, helps to clean up, to move forward for the sake of the future, for the sake of the victory, life.

We cross ourselves and always ask for peace in Ukraine and for the victory.


Since this tradition is already 25 years old, we could not resist, we came from the front to not break the tradition and after that we will go back to war".