At his prom, 15-year-old Egor Holodryha danced the graduation waltz alone.
His partner, his classmate Maria, was supposed to be there beside him. They had spent months rehearsing together, dreaming about this night.
But on May 14, Russia killed her in a missile strike on Kyiv. Maria died alongside her father and grandmother.
Egor refused to find another partner.
“It would have been a betrayal of Maria,” he said.
So while other couples danced together, he finished their dance alone.
This is what Russia steals. Not just lives, but futures, dreams, first dances, and memories that should have lasted a lifetime.
Photo by Oksana Parafeniuk for The New York Times.