Story 12: Oleksandr

Oleksandr lived with his mother and sister when the full-scale war began. Soon, the Russian troops occupied their city. On March 24 the boy was wounded in a shelling. His family was looking for the resettlement of Ukrainian forces to get medical treatment, but they were captured by the Russian troops. 

Oleksandr and his family were taken to a filtration camp. That was the last time the boy saw his mother and sister. Oleksandr was separated from them. Russians told him he will be deported to Russia and adopted by a Russian family. 

As the boy had a wound under his eye, he was first taken to the Donetsk Regional Traumatology in the occupied territory. There he received treatment. Oleksandr remembered his grandmother’s phone number by heart and asked his hospital roommate for a call. He told his grandmother where he was and asked to take him back home. The grandmother collected all needed documents to pick up the boy from captivity. 

Now Oleksandr is safe with his grandmother. His mother and sister remain in captivity or have been deported to Russia.