J.K. Rowling sent a personal letter with a signed book to Ukrainian Marine Oleksandr Ivanov, who spent more than four years in Russian captivity and supported his comrades with Harry Potter stories.
Marine Oleksandr Ivanov became fascinated with the world of Harry Potter as a child. He reread J.K. Rowling’s books so many times that he learned them almost by heart. Oleksandr began serving in the Marine Corps in 2015. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he defended Mariupol as part of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade. On April 12, 2022, Oleksandr last contacted his family, and later found himself in Russian captivity, where he spent more than four years.
In captivity, they were forbidden to talk to each other, so Oleksandr began to whisper, so that the guards would not hear, to tell his brothers the stories about Harry Potter – all seven volumes in turn. It turned out that many of them had never read Joan Rowling. And when Oleksandr finished the story, the boys asked him to tell it again.
Oleksandr’s story became widely known in Ukraine. The non-governmental organization Ukraine WOW saw Oleksandr’s touching story and decided to contact J.K. Rowling.
J.K. Rowling wrote Oleksandr a letter with words of support. The letter and the book were given to Oleksandr on July 31 – the birthday of the writer and her most famous character.
