How Double Amputee Oleksandr Budko Became Ukraine’s Most Desirable Man

When a shell exploded near Oleksandr Budko, the 26-year-old found himself buried alive and suffering “terrible pain” from injuries that led to the amputation of both legs.

The Ukrainian soldier was helping defend the northeastern Kharkiv region from invading Russian forces in August 2022 when his unit came under attack.

Two years later, he became the star of a reality TV show, in which several women competed for his affection.

One ad for the Ukrainian version of the hit US series The Bachelor shows Oleksandr looking dreamily at a flower in a smart suit. In another, he answers questions in military uniform before doing a series of pull-ups in the gym.

Chatting to me in a rose garden in Kyiv, the famous veteran was cheerful despite being tired after a busy week.

Oleksandr said he hoped to find love on the show after splitting from his girlfriend in January last year – but thought it would be difficult to choose a partner when “millions of people are watching”.

His motives were not just romantic. He also wanted to use his appearance on the show to raise awareness of the challenges facing disabled Ukrainians.

“This show is watched by millions of people and offers a huge opportunity to positively influence their views,” he said.

He wanted to demonstrate that wounded veterans were not “outsiders, but full members of society living good lives.

“In my case, my life now is even better than before the war, better than before I was injured.”

Oleksandr was always busy, he told me he had spent the night before filming a music video.

His life wasn’t always like this. In the years before the full-scale Russian invasion, he worked as a bartender in a Kyiv restaurant while studying graphic design.

He says his dreams are “realistic”: to travel, explore the world and develop his career. He wants to start a family.

But Oleksandr’s life was turned upside down two years ago, when he became one of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men to join the army.

In August 2022, he was stationed near Izyum, an occupied city on the front line of the Russian offensive. This place was invaded in the early days of the war and used by Russia as an important military center to supply its forces from the east.

The city was liberated by Kyiv just a month after Oleksandr was seriously wounded while defending Ukrainian positions nearby.

“I felt the ground move towards me. I felt terrible pain in my leg and realized that it meant I would have to have my leg amputated,” he said.

“I screamed in terrible pain and screamed loud enough for everyone to hear.”

He said he knew his teammates were alive, and they dug him out of the ground and gave him first aid. But that’s when he knew his leg was badly injured.

“I understood that I had lost my legs the moment I was injured, two or three seconds after I felt the pain.”

Oleksandr survived but most of Izyum was left in the rubble. At the time, authorities said they had found more than 400 bodies in graves near city.

Despite the challenging recovery process, Oleksandr was able to walk with a prosthetic leg within six months.

“When I didn’t have prosthetics, I had to move around in a wheelchair. I found Kyiv inaccessible and not wheelchair-friendly, even though it is the capital,” he said.

“In the historic old town, you can’t go anywhere. You can’t cross the street by yourself and you can’t go inside any of the buildings because there are stairs everywhere.”

War trauma means Oleksandr’s experience is becoming increasingly common in Ukraine. While there is no official data recording the number of people injured in the war, it is estimated that tens of thousands of people have lost limbs.

This led to the creation of a separate reality TV show called Legs Off – hosted by Oleksandr – which chronicles the difficulties disabled people face as they move around Ukrainian cities.

In addition to performing, the veteran has written a book, won a medal at the Invictus Games and performed with a ballet troupe in the United States – all while he was still recovering from his injury.

He’s so popular in Ukraine that The Bachelor’s application portal crashed shortly after it was announced that Oleksandr would be taking on the lead role in the upcoming season.

The Bachelor producers are casting this veteran as a symbol of hope.

“Despite having no legs, Oleksandr still rides a bike, drives a car and climbs mountains. He lives life to the fullest,” said Natalia Franchuk, from STB, the channel that will air the show later this year.

“If television was about reality TV, who could be the star of The Bachelor right now? Who else would be more suitable in a country at war?”