In the first days of the full-scale invasion, Oleksii did not have time to leave. The village where he lived was under occupation. Because of the threat of shelling, his father persuaded Oleksiy to go to a camp in Russia. As promised, it was only for ten days. But the camp lasted for almost a month. The children were not returned. In fact, they were moved to another place and accommodated in a hotel. Later, they sent him to school, but instead of the ninth grade, Oleksii ended up in the seventh grade. The boy was shocked. 

Meanwhile, Oleksii's mother has been struggling to get her son back to Ukraine all this time. 

Oleksii told his story during the recreational shift "Blogger Camp" organised by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation in cooperation with the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.