The full-scale invasion found Oleksandr Mashovets in his hometown of Makariv, in the Kyiv region. He had worked in the power grid sector until retirement, and shortly before the war, he had been invited to a new syringe production plant that had opened in Makariv. It was at work that he was informed the war had begun. Soon after, Oleksandr himself heard heavy machinery moving down his street. Together with his friends, he counted more than 300 tanks alone. Part of that convoy, Oleksandr says, later turned back after encountering the Ukrainian Armed Forces along the way.

The war reached the city very quickly. When the power went out in the neighborhood, Oleksandr and his friends and neighbors started repairing the networks.  Many lines had been cut, and poles were knocked down. This "people's" team worked to restore electricity. Once, during these repair works, shelling began. "We had just arrived and set up the tower.” Then shelling started! And right at the spot where we were making repairs – a strike. "We quickly started dismantling the tower and getting out of there," the man recalls.

When this brave team managed to repair the power grids, half of Makariv rejoiced. "The women were happy: there was light, there was gas. Half of Makariv had electricity," Oleksandr says. They had to repair the power grids under shelling more than once.  The men even managed to restore power to the local poultry farm.

And once, Oleksandr barely survived – a bomb dropped by an enemy aircraft exploded nearby. "The blast wave threw us to the ground and left us a bit deafened.
 There was so much dust. I lifted my head and  saw Borya lying far away.  I asked him,  “Are you alive?” He answered that he was. “Alright then, I said, everything’s fine.  Let’s get back to work,” Oleksandr recounts.