On March 16, Oleksii, together with his wife Iryna and mother-in-law, went to get some water. Came under mortar fire. Oleksii was wounded. His leg was amputated. His wife died a few minutes after the shelling. Oleksii found out where Iryna was buried only three months later. 

“My wife was on all fours above me. Filmy eyes. I told her, ‘Go , I will not survive. Get out of here while you’re still alive.’ Explosions all around, mad rumble. I had one hand. I began to scream, ‘We have a son. You wanted to go to his wedding.’ Iryna on all fours took two steps. And she fell,” recalls Oleksii Nechypurenko, a resident of Mariupol.