“russians were shooting at us like targets at a firing range”: the story of Mariupol rescuer Oleksandr Ahudov became part of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, rescuer Oleksandr Ahudov consciously chose to remain in Mariupol together with his pregnant wife Nataliia and their son. Every day, he evacuated people from under shelling and helped those who had been hiding in basements for weeks. The rescuer, who has 18 years of experience, shared his story with the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.

Today, the family of four lives in Dnipro in a renovated dormitory. They received a room there through the “I’Mariupol.  Housing” project, whose key partner is the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. Oleksandr also received support from Heart of Azovstal - a certificate for purchasing household appliances and undergoing a comprehensive medical examination.

“I paid a very high price for working in Mariupol. If I had left, my children would have been healthier. My younger daughter was born with a heart defect and has already undergone three surgeries. My older child is a child of war and has psychological trauma. On the other hand, if I had left, I would not respect myself as a rescuer. So I could not have acted differently,” the man admits.

Oleksandr himself repeatedly found himself on the edge between life and death. russians fired at his vehicle, and at one point an enemy tank even targeted him. Fortunately, a miracle saved him that day.

“It was like a horror movie. When you drove in, buildings were burning all around, soldiers with white and blue ribbons were running around and exchanging fire. There were situations when there was no battle anymore, yet russians were shooting at us like targets at a firing range,” Oleksandr recalls.

Oleksandr took his wife and son to the bomb shelter of the fire station, where more than 300 rescued civilians were staying. But when the city became encircled, the rescuers began evacuating people - it had become too dangerous to remain there. Just hours before the fire station was shelled, he sent Nataliia and their son to Zaporizhzhia, while he himself stayed behind to fulfill his duty. Oleksandr still remembers every person he managed to help, but his heart aches for those he could not save.

“My husband told me that they arrived at the scene and a person was trapped under a concrete slab, but there was no special equipment to get her out. Then he told the woman: ‘I’ll be back now, I’ll get the equipment.’ He stroked her and left. He could not save her because nothing more could be done. But she did not die in agony - she died knowing that someone had tried to save her. And then he burst into tears in the vehicle,” Nataliia says about those terrible moments.

The woman thanks fate that her husband managed to leave Mariupol alive: he passed through 20 checkpoints, repeatedly came under fire, but survived. Oleksandr continues saving people. For this, he has already received the Ukrainian presidential award “For the Defense of Ukraine” and the service’s highest distinction - the medal “For Courage in an Emergency Situation.”

Watch Oleksandr Ahudov’s story here: https://bit.ly/48Gg5E7

The collection of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation already numbers more than 145,000 stories about the war. This is the largest collection in the world of testimonies from civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine.