Wedding After Hell
On August 30, Oleksandr Strafun, who was released from Russian captivity on June 14 this year, married his beloved Olena. Photos of the man before and after his imprisonment spread widely across social media.
At first, Olena could not recognize him — neither his voice, nor his face, nor his body.
"If we hadn’t spoken on the phone and he hadn’t told me he would come out of the hospital yard to meet me, I would never have recognized him. But when he came closer and we hugged, I saw his lips, his nose, his gray eyes — it was him," she told hromadske in June.
Before captivity, Oleksandr weighed 103 kg at a height of 187 cm. In prison, he lost 50 kg and even 7 cm in height due to his bent posture.
Recovery and Everyday Life
Two months later, 52-year-old Oleksandr was discharged from the hospital. The tuberculosis diagnosis was not confirmed.
"Of course, doctors treated him and improved his condition," says Olena. "But he still needs to get stronger — it’s hard for him to walk, his legs are swollen. He is weak. Yet he has already gained weight, and I recognize my Sasha again. He is no longer a mummy. His face has regained natural features, and his humor has returned. Captivity changes everyone forever, but it’s wonderful if a person can remain themselves."
Now the couple rents a small apartment on Khreshchatyk in Kyiv. They take short walks every day, often going to places with good food — Olena insists on nourishing her husband.
From Captivity to Engagement
Before the full-scale invasion, the couple had already thought about marriage. While in Olenivka prison, Oleksandr proposed to Olena over the phone. She even went to court to establish the “fact of living as one family,” which is legally equal to marriage. After two and a half years of trials and witness testimonies, she received the document.
"Yes, it’s written there," Olena recalls. "But the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ were missing. After his release, Sasha proposed properly. Back in Olenivka, he wrote a poem and set it to music. Here, he bought a guitar and performed it for me. Then we went together to buy an engagement ring."
A few days later, they bought wedding rings. On August 30, 2025, they officially tied the knot.
A Simple Ceremony
Olena recalls their wedding day with a smile:
"We went to the registry office together, just the two of us. No guests, no pomp, no Mendelssohn march. The ceremony host told us: ‘Go ahead, kiss, don’t mind me. Sweetly!’ We laughed so much while signing the papers. I even changed my last name. Now both of our initials are the same — Strafun O.V. Sasha joked: ‘Wait, did I just marry myself?’"
Looking Ahead
Oleksandr has submitted a report to be discharged from military service.
"Everyone who returns from captivity can choose: either three months of leave and then back to duty, or immediate discharge. Sasha chose discharge. I told him it’s enough — he’s fought enough, and I couldn’t go through this again," says Olena. "We want to buy a small house. For now, we’re just two homeless people," she adds with a laugh.
Oleksandr concludes: "We survived the worst. Everything will be fine from now on."
And Olena adds a line from the classic Soviet film “Only Old Men Are Going to Battle”:
“We will live.”