Oleksandr, 19, is from the Zaporizhzhia region. He was 16 when his hometown was occupied. Instead of accepting life under Russian control, he joined a youth partisan group called “Puhachi.” They took down Russian flags, burned them, and spread pro-Ukrainian leaflets across the town. On May 3, 2022, Oleksandr and his friends were arrested. He was interrogated under torture — beaten, electrocuted with a field telephone, suffocated with a bag over his head. He was forced to sign fabricated charges and endured weeks of abuse in captivity, including beatings designed as “games.” After nearly two months in detention, he was eventually released. On August 24, 2025 — Ukraine’s Independence Day — Oleksandr crossed back into Ukraine. He says life under occupation is not life, but survival. And thousands of Ukrainian children and teenagers are still trapped there. Oleksandr’s story is one of many. Through the President’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, Ukraine continues working to return every child home.