A Ukrainian teenager whose home was destroyed during the war against Russia has had his home rebuilt after being featured in an Imagine Dragons video.
The music video for Crushed showed the wreckage of Sasha's village after five months of occupation.
His house and other buildings in the city were completely destroyed. Sasha survived the destruction by hiding in an underground bunker, but his neighbors were not alive.
The band eventually helped bring Sasha's story to the attention of an organization that decided to rebuild his home. Video released by United24, the fundraising platform behind the reconstruction, captures the moment Sasha first enters the house.
The tear-jerking video showed Sasha and his family moving into the new home, and detailed how the reconstruction came about.
Ukrainian teenager Sasha has had his house rebuilt after appearing in the Imagine Dragons video Crushed
Sasha and his family – pictured next to their new home – lost their family during the war against Russia
“A year ago, Ty Arnold, Imagine Dragons director of photography and frequent collaborator, came to Ukraine as a volunteer,” the video said.
'In the village of Mykolaiv Oblast, which suffered devastating Russian attacks, he met 14-year-old Sashko.
'Sashko's house and village were completely destroyed and Ty documented his story.
'Moved by the images, Imagine Dragons featured Sashko in their official music video for Crushed.
'The musicians invited Sashko to their concert in Warsaw, where they met in person.
“This video helped the world see the horrors of war unleashed by Russia.
“And millions learned about Sashko's biggest dream: coming back home.
'That evening, representatives of UNITED24's partners, retail chain Aurora, were in the audience.
The tear-jerking video shows Sasha standing next to the wreckage and his newly built home
The house was rebuilt by United24, Ukraine's official fundraising platform
Sasha sits by candlelight in his old house, compared to an image of him in his brand new bedroom
Sasha watched him get the keys to his new house
He and his family enter their brand new home
The band helped bring Sasha's story to the attention of an organization that rebuilt his home
'The company decided to rebuild Sashko's house from scratch.
'After six months of work, Sashko opens the door of his brand new house for the first time.'
Sasha then receives a video message from the band, who tells him, “We are so incredibly proud of you. You have inspired us, you have inspired thousands of people around the world.
“Thank you to all the incredible donors who created this dog. And most of all, Sasha, welcome home.”
Sasha receives a video message from the band after entering his new home
The moving video shows the construction of Sasha's house and side-by-side moving images comparing his destroyed home to his new one.
In one photo, Sasha sat by candlelight in his destroyed home. But in the newer image, Sasha was sitting in his brightly lit bedroom with a brand new desk and computer nearby.
Imagine Dragons posted the video to their account with the caption: “A year ago our friend @ty__arnold met a 14 year old boy named Sashko in Ukraine. He wandered the streets of his devastated city of Novohryhorivka, still in disbelief at the complete destruction of his home, his neighborhood and his school.
'@ty__arnold captured Sashko's story in our music video for Crushed. Thanks to UNITED24 (which we support) and their donor @avrora.multimarket, Sashko and his mother's house has been rebuilt.
UNITED24 was founded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the main platform for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine.
Last week, the organization released a video of Ukrainian soldiers on the war-weary front lines in Bakhmut singing adapted versions of Christmas classics, including Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Let It Snow and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
The covers feature altered texts “intended to remind people of the ongoing war and the importance of global support for Ukraine,” according to the fundraising platform UNITED24 behind the campaign.