House of 15-year old hero of Imagine Dragons’ music video rebuilt in Mykolaiv Oblast

Sashko (short for Oleksandr), a 15-year-old from the settlement of Novohryhorivka in Mykolaiv Oblast who starred in the Imagine Dragons' music video, has had his house rebuilt.  In the spring of 2022, Sashko's home was completely destroyed by the Russians, but the teenager was unwilling to leave it.  The Imagine Dragons, ambassadors of UNITED24, the Ukrainian government initiative raising money for the needs of the military, posted a music video for the song Crushed with Sashko in the lead role.

After the video, one of the donors on the fundraising platform allocated funds to reconstruct the house. 

"Director Ty Arnold met Sashko during a two-month journey through Ukraine. He delivered humanitarian aid to the village and encountered the boy wandering among the ruined houses.  This encounter was fateful: the story of the Ukrainian boy moved Ty and became the basis for the music video of one of the most popular contemporary bands," says UNITED24.

There was not a single intact wall left in his house after the Russian strike, and there was no electricity, so the ruins had to be demolished.  Instead, builders laid a new foundation and built a more reliable house.  They also added a terrace, a dream of Sashko's mother, and built a shelter nearby.

The construction was completed in just six months. "After the release of the video, thousands of people wanted to help the boy: there was an overwhelming amount of words of support and offers to buy an apartment in some Ukrainian city.  However, Sashko refused to leave Novohryhorivka, so the constant partner of UNITED24, the multistore network Aurora, decided to allocate funds for the reconstruction of the ruined home," adds UNITED24 coordinator Yaroslava Hres.

Earlier, we revealed the story of Sashko, which became the basis of the music video plot. His native settlement endured five months of Russian occupation.  Oleksander told journalists that he agreed to the filming only to raise funds for rebuilding his home.

The teenager also wanted to draw the attention of volunteers to the destroyed school, where he studied for nine years.

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