In shadow of war, Russians, Ukrainians mark Easter in UAE

By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Hundreds of Russians and Ukrainians alike were crowding into the only Russian Orthodox Church on the Arabian Peninsula to celebrate the most important Christian religious festival of the year. The expats are far from home, and in the shadow of a war that has brought devastation to Ukraine and international isolation to Moscow. The church rises from the dusty streets of Sharjah — a conservative Muslim emirate just south of skyscraper-studded Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, where an increasing number of Russians have made their home. Although the two nationalities, united in language and history, typically celebrate Easter in harmony, this year there was unspoken tension.