"My son was desperate to return to his comrades in Mariupol"

Olha’s son left the Azov Battalion—where he had served since 2015—just 20 days before the full-scale invasion began. He had dreamed of writing a book about the ATO. But he had to fight again, defending Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel. Olha went abroad. And there she learned that her son, Oleksandr “Hrian” Hrianyk, was killed on May 8, 2022, defending Mariupol.