Ukraine war: I married the love of my life in a Mariupol bunker. Two days later he was killed

The pair had found each other through work – Mariupol’s Border Guard Agency – around three years before the siege. When Andriy met Valeria, it was love at first sight. “He was special, it felt so warm to be around him,” Valeria says. “He was always kind and never refused to help anyone.” Andriy was an optimist, she says. He knew how to be happy and found joy in small things: sunny weather, smiles, friends’ company. “On the first day we met, I realised Andriy was very different to others.” Within three months, they had moved in together, renting a small one-storey house in Mariupol with a garden. The couple started building a life together.