“My friend was shot dead by Wagner troops in front of his children and wife”

Oleksandr held on to his “Fortress Bakhmut” until the very end. Without water, electricity, and under russian bombardment, he never left his family. After the tragic death of a relative and horrifying news of his friends’ deaths, he finally persuaded his loved ones to leave. Now the Bakhmut community in Kyiv is a meeting place with his own people, and his inborn optimism is the trait that helps him build a new life.