STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Ukraine says it is the first country in the world where you can propose and get married through an app. The feature went live a couple of weeks ago. It's helping couples separated by Russia's war on Ukraine, and it is so popular that online weddings are booked for months. NPR's Joanna Kakissis talked with some lovers in line.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Twenty-seven-year-old Olena Marchak met her partner, Yuriy, on Instagram last year. He subscribed to her cooking videos, and he loved her recipe for a layered cake called the Napoleon.
OLENA MARCHAK: (Through interpreter) He loves desserts. He makes them himself - chocolates, candies, marzipan, tiramisu.
KAKISSIS: But Yuriy was not cooking at home. He's a soldier in the trenches of eastern Ukraine. Yuriy, who is 40, did not disclose his last name to NPR in line with military protocol. Marchak said Yuriy could not phone us because he's in a difficult part of the front line.
MARCHAK: (Through interpreter) He told me what life was like there, how hard it is, how there's sometimes nothing to eat or drink, and the only goal is to survive.
KAKISSIS: They eventually met in person and began a relationship last fall. Things got serious. They talked about marriage.
MARCHAK: (Through interpreter) Unfortunately, he can't get a leave of absence to get married because there is a catastrophic shortage of people in his unit.
KAKISSIS: So Yuriy proposed on his phone via a mobile app called Diia developed by the Ukrainian government. Ukrainians already use this app to store documents, to use the bank, to register a business. Now they can also send a marriage proposal to another user.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: This commercial depicts a soldier proposing to his partner using the app and then using his phone for the online wedding ceremony.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: A female narrator says, "online marriage is a declaration of love when you are hundreds of kilometers apart." More than 800,000 Ukrainians have proposed through the app this month, according to the Ministry of Digital Transformation. Valeriia Tkach, who worked on the app's development, says about 250 couples have married through it.
VALERIIA TKACH: I was one of them (laughter). I couldn't miss this opportunity to make it (laughter). I can recommend to everybody.
KAKISSIS: Online weddings cannot be scheduled unless a registrar is available to log in and officiate. There is a shortage. At least 100,000 couples are waiting for slots, including the foodies Olena Marchak and her fiance, Yuriy.
MARCHAK: (Through interpreter) I will be so proud to be his wife. It's important to me that it's official.
KAKISSIS: The earliest slot she could get was in March. She's counting the days.
Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv.
(SOUNDBITE OF BENNY MARTIN AND THE WONG JANICE'S "CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (PIANO & CELLO)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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