Oleksandr was not a career soldier. He worked at the Ilyich steelworks in Mariupol and had not been in combat since 2014.
On February 21, 2022, he volunteered at the recruitment office. Days later, the war began, and he helped defend his city. That spring, he was captured by Russian forces.
His wife, Olena Zolotariova, published photos of their reunion three years later. Organizations such as the UN and Amnesty International documented beatings, electric shocks, and prolonged isolation inflicted on Ukrainian prisoners like him. Oleksandr’s body, say those who saw him, tells that story without the need for words.
