Twelve shrapnel-scarred plates of body armour worn by Ukrainian servicemen, each one painted with a religious icon, are displayed and consecrated at St Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv. They are part of the "Art Armor" project's "Spiritual Valor" series. "Before the war, we could not imagine that it was possible to paint icons on those items used during the hostilities" says Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who conducted the ceremony consecrating the painted plates. "Each of these icons was damaged by bullets" he adds, "but these bullets did not penetrate the bodies of our soldiers." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES