When a shell exploded near Oleksandr Budko, the 26-year-old found himself buried alive and in “terrible pain” from injuries that would lead to the amputation of both his legs.
The Ukrainian soldier was helping to defend the north-eastern Kharkiv region from invading Russian forces in August 2022, when his unit was attacked.
Two years on, he’s the star of a reality TV show in which multiple women battle for his affection.
One advert for the Ukrainian version of hit US series The Bachelor shows a smartly-dressed Oleksandr staring wistfully at a flower. In another, he answers questions in military fatigues before performing a series of pull-ups in a gym.
Speaking to me in a rose garden in Kyiv, the veteran-turned-celebrity is in good spirits despite being tired after a busy week.
Oleksandr says he’s hoping to find love on the show after breaking up with his girlfriend last January – but thinks it will be difficult to choose a partner with “millions of people watching”.
His motivations aren’t just romantic. He also wants to use his appearance on the show to raise awareness of the challenges facing disabled Ukrainians.
“This show is watched by millions of people, and it presents a huge opportunity to positively influence their outlook,” he says.
He wants to show that injured veterans are not “outsiders, but full members of society who are living a good life.
“In my case, my life is now even better than before the war, better than before I got injured.”
Oleksandr is always on the go, telling me he spent the previous night filming a music video.
His life wasn’t always like this. In the years before Russia’s full-scale invasion, he was working as a barista in a Kyiv restaurant while studying graphic design.
He says his dreams were “down to earth”: travelling, discovering the world, and growing professionally. He wanted to start a family.
But Oleksandr’s life was turned upside down two years ago, when he became one of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men to join the army.
In August 2022, he was stationed near Izyum, an occupied city on the front lines of the Russian advance. It was invaded in the early days of the war and used by Russia as a key military hub to supply its forces from the east.
The city was liberated by Kyiv just a month after Oleksandr was seriously injured while defending the nearby Ukrainian position.
