When a grenade exploded near Oleksandr Budko, the 26-year-old was buried alive. He suffered “terrible pain” due to injuries that led to the amputation of both legs.
The Ukrainian soldier was helping defend the northeastern Kharkiv region against invading Russian forces in August 2022 when his unit came under attack.
Two years later, he is the star of a reality TV show in which several women fight for his affection.
In an ad for the Ukrainian version of the hit US series The Bachelor, a smartly dressed Oleksandr can be seen staring wistfully at a flower. In another ad, he answers questions in military uniform before doing a set of pull-ups in a gym.
Speaking to me in a rose garden in Kiev, the former veteran and current star is in good spirits despite his fatigue after a busy week.
Oleksandr says he hopes to find true love on the show after splitting from his girlfriend last January, but he believes it will be difficult to choose a partner when “millions of people are watching”.
His motives are not 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 offers a huge opportunity to positively influence their attitudes,” he says.
He wants to show that injured veterans are not “outsiders, but full members of society who lead good lives.”
“In my case, my life is even better now than before the war, better than before I was injured.”
Oleksandr is always on the go and told me that he spent the night before shooting a music video.
His life wasn’t always like this. In the years before the large-scale invasion of Russia, he worked as a barista in a restaurant in Kiev while studying graphic design.
He says his dreams were “down to earth”: to travel, explore the world and grow professionally. He wanted to start a family.
But Oleksandr’s life was turned upside down two years ago when, like hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, he joined the army.
In August 2022, he was stationed near Izyum, an occupied town on the Front lines of the Russian advanceIt was captured in the first days of the war and used by Russia as an important military hub for supplying its forces from the East.
The city was liberated from Kyiv just a month after Oleksandr was seriously injured while defending a nearby Ukrainian position.
“I felt the earth pushing towards me. I felt a terrible pain in my legs and I realized that this would mean the amputation of my legs,” he said.
“I screamed in excruciating pain and shouted so people could hear me.”
He said he knew his comrades were alive. They dug him out of the ground and administered first aid. But then he noticed that his legs were badly injured.
“I realized I had lost my legs at the moment of the injury, two or three seconds after I felt the pain.”
Oleksandr survived, but much of Izyum lay in ruins. At the time, authorities said they had more than 400 bodies in graves near the city.
Despite a difficult recovery, Oleksandr was able to walk with prosthetic legs within six months.
“When I didn’t have prosthetics, I had to get around in a wheelchair. I discovered how inaccessible and unsuitable Kyiv was for wheelchair users, even though it is the capital,” he says.
“In the historic old town, you can’t get anywhere. You can’t cross the street alone and you can’t get into any buildings because there are stairs everywhere.”
War injuries mean that Oleksandr’s experience is becoming increasingly common in Ukraine. While there are no official figures on the number of those injured during the war, it is estimated that tens of thousands have lost limbs.
This led to the creation of his own reality show called “Legs Off”, hosted by Oleksandr, which focuses on the difficulties faced by disabled people in Ukrainian cities.
In addition to his hosting work, the veteran has also written a book, won medals at the Invictus Games and performed with a ballet troupe in the USA – all while recovering from his injuries.
He is so popular in Ukraine that the application portal for “The Bachelor” crashed shortly after it was announced that Oleksandr would take on the lead role in the upcoming season.
The producers of “The Bachelor” cast the veteran as a symbol of hope.
“Despite his amputations, Oleksandr rides a bike, drives a car and climbs mountains. He enjoys life to the fullest,” says Natalia Franchuk of STB, the channel on which the show will air later this year.
“If television is about making reality a reality, who better to be the star of The Bachelor right now? Who else would be better suited to a country at war?”