“Will you wait for me to return from the war?” Sergeants Uren and Chumak defended Mariupol and have been held captive for more than 550 days
Source: SVOI CITY
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
He shattered all stereotypes about the military
Oleksandr Uren is originally from Kharkiv. He enlisted for mandatory military service in 2020 and was assigned to a military unit in a city on the coast of the Azov Sea. He planned to stay there after his contract ended, because it was in Mariupol that the soldier found true and mutual love.
Alina and Oleksandr met in late August 2020. The young woman recalls that her friend was already in a romantic relationship with a soldier, and it turned out that Sasha was his fellow soldier. The young man happened to see a photo of Alina on her friend’s cell phone and wanted to get to know her.
“To be honest, back then—when I was still 18—I thought all soldiers were heartless, cynical, rough, and even cruel. I looked at Sasha’s photo, and even though I had those negative stereotypes, I agreed to meet him. In the photos, he seemed positive and warm-hearted,” Alina recalls the events from three years ago
. The young woman was also convinced that soldiers were never home: constant patrols, daily duties, and shifts at checkpoints got in the way. However, it turned out that military service didn’t stand in the way of love, and Sasha had plenty of time for Alina.
“Gentle, romantic, attentive, emotional, restless, outgoing, cheerful. He’s also the life of the party. And he sings so beautifully,” says Alina
We’re like the heroes of a war
movie Recalling January and early February 2022, the young woman remembers that the TV channels they watched together mostly aired movies about World War II. And one evening, Sasha suddenly asked his girlfriend, “Will you wait for me to come back from the war?” At the time, Alina couldn’t even imagine that a full-scale invasion would begin in two weeks and that she would find herself in the shoes of one of the heroines from the movies they’d been watching together.
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Oleksandr Uren received a call from work—all soldiers of Military Unit No. 3057 had been put on alert. It had begun—the Russian army had started the war. Alina was “ordered” to evacuate from Mariupol. But she refused.
“Why should I leave my home, especially without my loved one? I crossed him for good luck as we parted, even though I’d never done that before. And I told him that since I was the last one to leave the apartment, I’d keep our shared apartment key for now,” recalls 21-year-old Alina
Her Boyfriend Meets Her Father Amid the Sounds of Explosions
That same day, the young woman went to her parents’ home in another district of Mariupol, where the power had already gone out, constant “Grad” rocket attacks had begun, and the internet was down.
On February 28, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers came to her parents’ apartment and told them to leave the city. Again, they refused. All this time, the couple kept in touch via text messages so that each would know the other was alive and not worry.
“On March 1, Sashko sent me a text message with his final words and an apology. After reading that, I didn’t want to live anymore. My dad pulled me back from the brink: he simply convinced me that Sashko was actually a lover of life and that, thanks to his sociability and proactive attitude, he would eventually find a way to survive. That was the first time in my life I prayed and asked God to spare my whole family and my beloved boyfriend,” she
shared In the village of Volontyrivka, on the outskirts of Mariupol, where Alina’s parents lived, it was becoming harder to survive with each passing day, so the family moved to her grandmother’s house on Kurchatov Street. It really was safer there, but not for long. On March 9, Sasha came there to hug his girlfriend.
“That was the first time my dad met my boyfriend. Before that, he didn’t want to meet him, saying that if he was serious about getting married, then it would make sense. But there was my Sasha—in uniform, so handsome and confident. That’s how my closest family members met. I’ll cherish this moment in my heart for the rest of my life: from that very day, I’ve been Sasha’s fiancée!” says Alina.
He asked Alina’s parents to let her go with him. He was able to take her to a house with a good bomb shelter. They agreed. That’s how Alina ended up in the bomb shelter of a beauty salon in central Mariupol, where she stayed until March 15. One day, a bomb fell right next to her. Fortunately, she was saved by the wall she was standing behind.
“Snickers” for Sashko After His Captivity
That was their last meeting; afterward, Sashko and Alina only exchanged messages on social media whenever they managed to get a cell signal. Back in April, while at “Azovstal,” he wrote: “Alina, if only you knew how one’s values in life change when facing the threat of death. And how much I’d love to eat a Snickers right now.” After evacuating from Mariupol to Kharkiv, where she still lives, Alina bought a Snickers chocolate bar. Sasha will return from captivity, and his favorite treat will be waiting for him.
The last message from Oleksandr was on May 11, 2022. He wrote that he had been promoted—he’s now a sergeant—and assured her that everything was going great. On May 19, Alina learned from his fellow soldiers that her fiancé had been taken prisoner. She also received a call from the Red Cross informing her of this officially.
Sixteen months have passed since then, and Oleksandr Uren’s family and friends have seen him twice on Russian Telegram channels. In February of this year, some prisoners who had been exchanged said that Sasha was alive. Around the same time, an unknown person called Alina to thank her, saying that in the spring of 2022, he had been seriously wounded and that it was Sasha who had saved him on the grounds of “Azovstal.” And no further details were given.
“I would have been more surprised if my fiancé hadn’t done that. He’s an incredible person. I love him very much and am waiting for him to return as soon as possible,” Alina said.
Timofey was born in a maternity hospital that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike
. Denis Chumak was born in Bakhmut. He graduated from high school there and continued his education at a technical college in Donetsk, training to become a computer typesetter. In 2015, he signed a contract with Military Unit 3057 and moved to Mariupol. Denis loved this seaside city and enjoyed walking along the Azov Sea. His wife, Alisa, later moved here from Bakhmut.
It was in Mariupol that the Chumak family grew—on June 29, 2021, their son Tymofii was born. The joyous event took place at the maternity hospital, which the Russians dropped an aerial bomb on in March 2022.
“We planned the pregnancy, so the child was wanted. Denis really dreamed of having a son. He was proud when people told him while he was on duty that Tymofiy looked just like him,” says 25-year-old Alisa
Unfortunately, Timofey has no memory of his father at all. After all, he was only 8 months old when the full-scale war began, separating him from his dad.
They took shelter in the basement of a grocery store
On the morning of February 24, Alisa’s sister called from Kharkiv and said, “The war has started.” She couldn’t reach her husband, who was on a business trip near Mariupol. It wasn’t until later that afternoon that Denis was able to call back. He said he’d heard explosions since the night before, but assured her that everything would be resolved soon. Denis did everything he could to calm his wife. Later, one of Denis’s comrades took Alisa and her son to another location. There, she spent the first days of the war with her friend Tamara, Tamara’s seven-year-old daughter, and a service dog.
“Then we realized it was dangerous to stay in the house, so we moved to the ‘ATB’ store.” We settled in a backroom for workers—it had changing rooms, a kitchen, and a storage area. And all of this was on the basement level. There were about 200 people there. I didn’t go outside from there because it was already loud and dangerous. I wanted to save my son’s and my own lives,” the young woman recalls how she endured the bombing of Mariupol.
He brought diapers and food—they didn’t even have
time to hug At the time, neither Tamara nor Alisa knew where their loved ones were or what had happened to them. About a week later, Tamara’s husband came to the basement with a letter from Denis.
“He wrote that he missed us very much. He regrets that he didn’t spend enough time with us, even though that’s not true. Denis devoted all his free time to us,” she
says And the very next day, Denis himself came to the basement. It was a brief meeting between the couple—no more than five minutes. Denis couldn’t even pick up his son because he was in full gear.
“The last time I saw my beloved was on March 10. He came in and asked us to go outside without the baby. He handed us diapers, a battery so we’d have light in the basement, and some food he’d managed to get. I didn’t even have time to hug him,” the woman recalls sadly.
We lost everything—in Mariupol and Bakhmut—but we still have faith and hope
What followed were terrible bombings, life in a cramped basement, and constant waiting. There was no communication whatsoever. One day, one of the men went outside from the basement, came back, and told us that two Russian tanks were stationed not far from them. One of the tanks had the inscription “Rostov—Papa!”
“That’s when I realized I would never see my husband again in Mariupol. And that’s exactly what happened. We decided we had to leave the city. So, in a friend’s car, Tamara and I, along with our children, our dog, and our cat, left Mariupol, where our relatives were waiting for us. Miraculously, we all made it to Dnipro, where we stayed until September 2022. And then I decided to go to Kyiv: we couldn’t just sit idly by—we had to do something to bring Denys home as soon as possible. “That’s my biggest dream, but unfortunately, it hasn’t come true yet!” says Alisa.
Denis Chumak recently turned 31. The defender of Mariupol has been held captive by the Russians for over 550 days. The last time Tymofiy saw his father was in March 2022—the boy was only eight months old at the time.
“Tymofiy’s first birthday passed without his dad, and so did his second. Without his dad, he took his first step and said his first word. Timofey has been calling out for his dad for over a year now. For him, ‘Dad’ is a framed photograph on a shelf in our rented apartment in Kyiv,” says the wife of the captured defender of Mariupol, with tears in her eyes.
The Russians left the Chumak family without a home—first in Mariupol, and then in Bakhmut.
“We lost everything we had, but we still have what matters most—all our loved ones are alive. And we still have faith and hope. We’ll have a home again; the main thing is that Denys comes back. We love him very much. We believe that soon we’ll all be together and start our new life in a peaceful Ukraine,” says Alisa Chumak with conviction.
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
He shattered all stereotypes about the military
Oleksandr Uren is originally from Kharkiv. He enlisted for mandatory military service in 2020 and was assigned to a military unit in a city on the coast of the Azov Sea. He planned to stay there after his contract ended, because it was in Mariupol that the soldier found true and mutual love.
Alina and Oleksandr met in late August 2020. The young woman recalls that her friend was already in a romantic relationship with a soldier, and it turned out that Sasha was his fellow soldier. The young man happened to see a photo of Alina on her friend’s cell phone and wanted to get to know her.
“To be honest, back then—when I was still 18—I thought all soldiers were heartless, cynical, rough, and even cruel. I looked at Sasha’s photo, and even though I had those negative stereotypes, I agreed to meet him. In the photos, he seemed positive and warm-hearted,” Alina recalls the events from three years ago
. The young woman was also convinced that soldiers were never home: constant patrols, daily duties, and shifts at checkpoints got in the way. However, it turned out that military service didn’t stand in the way of love, and Sasha had plenty of time for Alina.
“Gentle, romantic, attentive, emotional, restless, outgoing, cheerful. He’s also the life of the party. And he sings so beautifully,” says Alina
We’re like the heroes of a war
movie Recalling January and early February 2022, the young woman remembers that the TV channels they watched together mostly aired movies about World War II. And one evening, Sasha suddenly asked his girlfriend, “Will you wait for me to come back from the war?” At the time, Alina couldn’t even imagine that a full-scale invasion would begin in two weeks and that she would find herself in the shoes of one of the heroines from the movies they’d been watching together.
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Oleksandr Uren received a call from work—all soldiers of Military Unit No. 3057 had been put on alert. It had begun—the Russian army had started the war. Alina was “ordered” to evacuate from Mariupol. But she refused.
“Why should I leave my home, especially without my loved one? I crossed him for good luck as we parted, even though I’d never done that before. And I told him that since I was the last one to leave the apartment, I’d keep our shared apartment key for now,” recalls 21-year-old Alina
Her Boyfriend Meets Her Father Amid the Sounds of Explosions
That same day, the young woman went to her parents’ home in another district of Mariupol, where the power had already gone out, constant “Grad” rocket attacks had begun, and the internet was down.
On February 28, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers came to her parents’ apartment and told them to leave the city. Again, they refused. All this time, the couple kept in touch via text messages so that each would know the other was alive and not worry.
“On March 1, Sashko sent me a text message with his final words and an apology. After reading that, I didn’t want to live anymore. My dad pulled me back from the brink: he simply convinced me that Sashko was actually a lover of life and that, thanks to his sociability and proactive attitude, he would eventually find a way to survive. That was the first time in my life I prayed and asked God to spare my whole family and my beloved boyfriend,” she
shared In the village of Volontyrivka, on the outskirts of Mariupol, where Alina’s parents lived, it was becoming harder to survive with each passing day, so the family moved to her grandmother’s house on Kurchatov Street. It really was safer there, but not for long. On March 9, Sasha came there to hug his girlfriend.
“That was the first time my dad met my boyfriend. Before that, he didn’t want to meet him, saying that if he was serious about getting married, then it would make sense. But there was my Sasha—in uniform, so handsome and confident. That’s how my closest family members met. I’ll cherish this moment in my heart for the rest of my life: from that very day, I’ve been Sasha’s fiancée!” says Alina.
He asked Alina’s parents to let her go with him. He was able to take her to a house with a good bomb shelter. They agreed. That’s how Alina ended up in the bomb shelter of a beauty salon in central Mariupol, where she stayed until March 15. One day, a bomb fell right next to her. Fortunately, she was saved by the wall she was standing behind.
“Snickers” for Sashko After His Captivity
That was their last meeting; afterward, Sashko and Alina only exchanged messages on social media whenever they managed to get a cell signal. Back in April, while at “Azovstal,” he wrote: “Alina, if only you knew how one’s values in life change when facing the threat of death. And how much I’d love to eat a Snickers right now.” After evacuating from Mariupol to Kharkiv, where she still lives, Alina bought a Snickers chocolate bar. Sasha will return from captivity, and his favorite treat will be waiting for him.
The last message from Oleksandr was on May 11, 2022. He wrote that he had been promoted—he’s now a sergeant—and assured her that everything was going great. On May 19, Alina learned from his fellow soldiers that her fiancé had been taken prisoner. She also received a call from the Red Cross informing her of this officially.
Sixteen months have passed since then, and Oleksandr Uren’s family and friends have seen him twice on Russian Telegram channels. In February of this year, some prisoners who had been exchanged said that Sasha was alive. Around the same time, an unknown person called Alina to thank her, saying that in the spring of 2022, he had been seriously wounded and that it was Sasha who had saved him on the grounds of “Azovstal.” And no further details were given.
“I would have been more surprised if my fiancé hadn’t done that. He’s an incredible person. I love him very much and am waiting for him to return as soon as possible,” Alina said.
Timofey was born in a maternity hospital that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike
. Denis Chumak was born in Bakhmut. He graduated from high school there and continued his education at a technical college in Donetsk, training to become a computer typesetter. In 2015, he signed a contract with Military Unit 3057 and moved to Mariupol. Denis loved this seaside city and enjoyed walking along the Azov Sea. His wife, Alisa, later moved here from Bakhmut.
It was in Mariupol that the Chumak family grew—on June 29, 2021, their son Tymofii was born. The joyous event took place at the maternity hospital, which the Russians dropped an aerial bomb on in March 2022.
“We planned the pregnancy, so the child was wanted. Denis really dreamed of having a son. He was proud when people told him while he was on duty that Tymofiy looked just like him,” says 25-year-old Alisa
Unfortunately, Timofey has no memory of his father at all. After all, he was only 8 months old when the full-scale war began, separating him from his dad.
They took shelter in the basement of a grocery store
On the morning of February 24, Alisa’s sister called from Kharkiv and said, “The war has started.” She couldn’t reach her husband, who was on a business trip near Mariupol. It wasn’t until later that afternoon that Denis was able to call back. He said he’d heard explosions since the night before, but assured her that everything would be resolved soon. Denis did everything he could to calm his wife. Later, one of Denis’s comrades took Alisa and her son to another location. There, she spent the first days of the war with her friend Tamara, Tamara’s seven-year-old daughter, and a service dog.
“Then we realized it was dangerous to stay in the house, so we moved to the ‘ATB’ store.” We settled in a backroom for workers—it had changing rooms, a kitchen, and a storage area. And all of this was on the basement level. There were about 200 people there. I didn’t go outside from there because it was already loud and dangerous. I wanted to save my son’s and my own lives,” the young woman recalls how she endured the bombing of Mariupol.
He brought diapers and food—they didn’t even have
time to hug At the time, neither Tamara nor Alisa knew where their loved ones were or what had happened to them. About a week later, Tamara’s husband came to the basement with a letter from Denis.
“He wrote that he missed us very much. He regrets that he didn’t spend enough time with us, even though that’s not true. Denis devoted all his free time to us,” she
says And the very next day, Denis himself came to the basement. It was a brief meeting between the couple—no more than five minutes. Denis couldn’t even pick up his son because he was in full gear.
“The last time I saw my beloved was on March 10. He came in and asked us to go outside without the baby. He handed us diapers, a battery so we’d have light in the basement, and some food he’d managed to get. I didn’t even have time to hug him,” the woman recalls sadly.
We lost everything—in Mariupol and Bakhmut—but we still have faith and hope
What followed were terrible bombings, life in a cramped basement, and constant waiting. There was no communication whatsoever. One day, one of the men went outside from the basement, came back, and told us that two Russian tanks were stationed not far from them. One of the tanks had the inscription “Rostov—Papa!”
“That’s when I realized I would never see my husband again in Mariupol. And that’s exactly what happened. We decided we had to leave the city. So, in a friend’s car, Tamara and I, along with our children, our dog, and our cat, left Mariupol, where our relatives were waiting for us. Miraculously, we all made it to Dnipro, where we stayed until September 2022. And then I decided to go to Kyiv: we couldn’t just sit idly by—we had to do something to bring Denys home as soon as possible. “That’s my biggest dream, but unfortunately, it hasn’t come true yet!” says Alisa.
Denis Chumak recently turned 31. The defender of Mariupol has been held captive by the Russians for over 550 days. The last time Tymofiy saw his father was in March 2022—the boy was only eight months old at the time.
“Tymofiy’s first birthday passed without his dad, and so did his second. Without his dad, he took his first step and said his first word. Timofey has been calling out for his dad for over a year now. For him, ‘Dad’ is a framed photograph on a shelf in our rented apartment in Kyiv,” says the wife of the captured defender of Mariupol, with tears in her eyes.
The Russians left the Chumak family without a home—first in Mariupol, and then in Bakhmut.
“We lost everything we had, but we still have what matters most—all our loved ones are alive. And we still have faith and hope. We’ll have a home again; the main thing is that Denys comes back. We love him very much. We believe that soon we’ll all be together and start our new life in a peaceful Ukraine,” says Alisa Chumak with conviction.
This is an automatic translation generated by DeepL.
