A candle for every day: Ukraine hosts ‘Light the Fire’ event to mark 1,000 days of full-scale war with Russia

Ukrainians have lit 1,000 candles to mark each day since Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly three years ago. 

Poignant photos show soldiers laying down the flames in front of the statue of the Motherland, one of the main symbols of Kyiv on the 1000th day of the war. 

Yellow and blue, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, were also projected into the air in beams of light for the ‘Light the Fire’ event on Tuesday evening. 

Both civilians and military personnel gathered at the service with many calling for an end to the war which has cost thousands of lives. 

Soldiers also took to the stage to perform rock songs about Ukraine and Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Pictured: Candles being laid in front of the Motherland monument in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 19

Yellow and blue, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, were also projected into the air in beams of light

Ukrainian servicemen hold candles during a memorial ceremony marking 1000 days of the Russia-Ukraine war

Soldiers performing rock songs about Ukraine and the war at the Light the Fire Event 

It comes as the Kremlin marked 1000 days since the invasion by lowering the threshold at which Russian forces could use nuclear weapons. 

The new doctrine, which replaces the previous iteration outlined in 2020, allows Moscow to deploy its weapons if Russia or Belarus is threatened by a non-nuclear nation supported by a nuclear power. 

The move has not been linked to any current crisis, although the announcement came just days after President Joe Biden agreed to allow Ukraine to fire US long-range missiles deep into Russia.

The Kremlin has branded this decision as reckless and warned that it would draw a response from Moscow.

This morning US-made missiles rained down on Russian soil striking an ammunition depot in Russia’s Bryansk region.

‘This is, of course, a signal that they want to escalate,’ Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at a G20 press conference in Brazil, said of the strike.

‘We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia. And we will react accordingly,’ he added, accusing Washington of helping Kyiv operate the missiles.

Military cadets hold candles during a commemorative ceremony on the 1000th day of Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine

The candles pictured in front of the monument tonight in Kyiv, Ukraine 

Pictured: Lit candles on the steps during the ‘Light the Fire’ event on November 19

A military cadet lights a candle during a commemorative ceremony on the 1000th day of Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen hold candles during a memorial ceremony marking 1000 days of the Russia Ukraine war in Kyiv

1,000 candles are seen in front of the ‘Motherland’ monument during a commemorative ceremony on the 1000th day of Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine

Residents place candles in front of the ‘Motherland’ monument during a commemorative ceremony on the 1000th day of Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine