Orthodox Easter messages from patriarchs in Kiev and Moscow have highlighted the deep division in Ukraine, where a tense stand-off is continuing in the east.
The head of Ukraine's Orthodox Church Patriarch Filaret accused Russia of "aggression" and "evil".
In his Easter message, Patriarch Filaret said: "Against our peace-loving nation, which voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons, there has been aggression, there has been injustice.
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"A country which guaranteed the integrity and inviolability of our territory has committed aggression. God cannot be on the side of evil, so the enemy of the Ukrainian people is condemned to defeat," he said.
"Lord, help us resurrect Ukraine."
In Moscow, Patriarch Kirill appealed for peace, saying it "should reign in the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters by blood and by faith".
But he also said Ukraine was "spiritually and historically" at one with Russia, and he prayed for it to have authorities that were "legitimately elected".
"We are a single people before God," he said.
Ukraine's acting President, Oleksander Turchynov, said in his Easter message: "We are living in a fateful time when the Ukrainian people have decisively affirmed their striving for freedom and justice."
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