It took Valeria Karpylenko three days to experience love, loss and suffering, all at once. Lovingly known as Nava, the Ukrainian soldier tied the knot with Andriy, a fellow defender, inside Mariupol’s besieged Azovstal steel plant on May 5. 

Three days later, the happy newlywed became a widow when her husband was killed in the siege. 

“Mariupol defender Valeria Karpylenko — nicknamed “Nava” — became a bride, wife and widow at Azovstal,” a post by the Ukrainian National Guard read on Facebook. 

“On May 5, Ukrainian border guard Andriy — nicknamed “Beard” — and a girl from Azov got married, and he died three days later,” the post read.

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 The Facebook post features several images of the couple getting married in their uniform ensemble and some pictures of them before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. 

The couple’s love story bloomed inside a bunker as they fought against Russian forces, refusing to surrender, just like the hundreds holed up inside the steelworks plant.

On May 5, the couple tied the knot. Three days later, Andriy died, according to a post on Facebook by Karpylenko.

The post, uploaded on Wednesday, consisted of a note by the widowed soldier.

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“You were my legal husband for three days. And for eternity you are my love. My dear, my caring husband. You were and are the best. All I have left is your last name, your loving family and memories of a happy time together,” she wrote on Facebook.

Karpylenko signed off by promising her husband that she would not succumb to the siege, and will go on to live a life for the two of them.