The Ukrainian boy featured in Imagine Dragons video is getting a new home
In May 2023, the ambassadors of the UNITED24 platform, the American band Imagine Dragons, presented a music video for the song Crushed. Its main character was 14-year-old Sashko from Novohryhorivka, Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, whose house was destroyed by Russian shelling.
The video was seen by millions of viewers worldwide, and the topic of the destruction that Russia is wreaking on Ukraine once again made it into all the world's news.
Ty Arnold, the author of the most popular Imagine Dragons videos, directed the clip that drew attention to Sasha's story. Ty met Sashko during a two-month trip to Ukraine.
"I met Sashko while delivering a humanitarian worker to his village, Novohryhorivka. I looked at the destroyed houses and noticed how Sashko was wandering alone. We started talking, and I learned his story. I took a video with him while we were talking. After talking with Imagine Dragons about the music video, I felt that the footage with Sashko could tell an important story about Ukraine and the war. In the end, Sashko agreed, and I'm happy that we created a good story that changed his life," Ty Arnold commented.
The boy's house began to be restored today thanks to the partner of the fundraising platform, the multi-market chain Aurora.
"When Ty came to Ukraine, we thought he would limit himself to Kyiv, the region at most, but he went further. He traveled through the east and south of Ukraine for two months despite constant danger. He celebrated the New Year with the Ukrainian military in Bakhmut," Yaroslava Hres, coordinator of UNITED24, said. "And then he told us that he filmed a gripping story about a boy and thinks it will become a music video for Imagine Dragons. Of course, we were incredibly grateful because every work like this is an opportunity to remind the world repeatedly about the war in Ukraine. The Crushed music video was impossible to watch without tears. And we immediately understood that we had to help Sashka return home. So we asked for the help of our permanent partner, the Aurora network. The whole agreement took 10 minutes. And for this instant reaction, for sincerity, we bow low to all the donors of UNITED24."
"Sashko's house is significantly destroyed. Whole fragments need to be rebuilt from scratch. So we decided to add a couple more rooms and a veranda, which Sashka's mother dreamed of. The builders are in a hurry, and they promised to hand over the work in a couple of months," said Taras Panasenko, Aurora CEO and co-founder. "All the teams involved in this project feel involved in the boy's story, who refused any offers to move to the city or another village, from a new house or apartment, because his only dream is to return to his native home. We are happy to help this dream come true."
