Warner/STB ChannelWhen a shell exploded close to Oleksandr Budko, the 26-year-old discovered himself buried alive and struggling “horrible ache” from accidents that even resulted within the amputation of each legs.
The Ukrainian soldier was serving to to defend the northeastern area of Kharkiv from an incursion by Russian forces in August 2022 when his unit got here underneath assault.
Three years later, he turned the star of a actuality present through which a number of ladies battled for his affection.
A well-dressed Oleksandr stares thoughtfully at a flower in an advert for the Ukrainian model of the hit US collection The Bachelor. In one other picture, he solutions questions in navy uniform earlier than performing a collection of pull-ups within the gymnasium.
The veteran-turned-celebrity spoke to me in Kiev’s rose backyard, and though drained after a busy week, he was in good spirits.
Oleksandr mentioned he hoped to seek out love on the present after splitting from his girlfriend final January, however thought it might be troublesome to decide on a accomplice whereas “thousands and thousands of persons are watching”.
His motivations are greater than romantic. He additionally hopes to make use of his look on the present to boost consciousness in regards to the challenges confronted by disabled folks in Ukraine.
“This present is watched by thousands and thousands of individuals and it offers an enormous alternative to positively affect their views,” he mentioned.
He needed to point out that wounded veterans weren’t “outsiders however full members of society main good lives.”
“So far as I am involved, my life is even higher now than earlier than the warfare, higher than earlier than I acquired injured.”
Warner/STB ChannelOleksandr, all the time busy, instructed me he had shot a music video the night time earlier than.
His life wasn’t all the time like this. Within the years earlier than the full-scale Russian invasion, he labored as a barista in a Kiev restaurant whereas finding out graphic design.
He says his dream is to “hold his ft on the bottom”: to journey, uncover the world and develop his profession. He needs to begin a household.
However two years in the past, Alexander’s life modified dramatically when he turned one in every of a whole bunch of hundreds of Ukrainian males to affix the military.
In August 2022, he was stationed close to Izyum, an occupied metropolis. Russia’s advancing front. It was invaded early within the warfare and utilized by Russia as an essential navy hub to produce its troops from the east.
Only a month after Alexander was critically wounded whereas defending close by Ukrainian positions, Kiev liberated town.
“I felt the earth transfer towards me. I felt a pointy ache in my legs and realized that this meant amputation of each my legs,” he mentioned.
“I used to be screaming in horrible ache and yelling for folks to listen to me.”
He mentioned he knew his comrade was nonetheless alive and that they dug him out of the bottom and offered first assist. But it surely was then that he realized his leg had been critically injured.
“Two or three seconds after I felt the ache, I knew I had misplaced each legs the second I used to be injured.”
Alexander survived, however a lot of Izyum was in ruins. On the time, authorities mentioned they discovered greater than 400 bodies in graves near city.
U.S. Environmental Safety CompanyRegardless of a difficult restoration course of, Oleksandr was nonetheless strolling with a prosthetic leg inside six months.
“After I did not have prosthetics, I needed to get round in a wheelchair. I found how inaccessible and unsuitable Kiev is for wheelchair customers, despite the fact that it is the capital,” he mentioned.
“Within the historic outdated city, you’ll be able to’t go anyplace. You possibly can’t cross the road by yourself, and you may’t enter any buildings as a result of there are stairs in all places.
Warfare accidents imply Alexander’s expertise is changing into more and more widespread in Ukraine. Whereas there aren’t any official statistics on the variety of folks injured in the course of the warfare, it’s estimated that tens of hundreds misplaced limbs.
From this, Oleksandr created an unbiased actuality present referred to as Legs Off, capturing the difficulties confronted by folks with disabilities transferring round Ukrainian cities.
Along with talking, the veteran has written a guide, received a medal on the Invincible Video games, and carried out with a ballet firm within the U.S. — all whereas recovering from his accidents carried out within the course of.
Getty PicturesHe is so fashionable in Ukraine that The Bachelor’s utility portal crashed shortly after it was introduced that Oleksandr could be starring within the subsequent season.
The producers of “The Bachelor” see the veteran as a logo of hope.
“Though Oleksandr was an amputation, he nonetheless rode his bike, drove his automotive, and climbed mountains. He lived a full life.
“If tv is about filming actuality, who higher to be the star of ‘The Bachelor’ proper now? Who higher to be in a rustic at warfare?
