Zaporizhzhia schoolboy Maksym Brovchenko is a real celebrity. The teenager is invited to appear on television and is personally acquainted with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena, the Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko, and General Valery Zaluzhny, currently Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. Over the past few years, Maksym has painted over a hundred paintings, written and published a book, and performed twice in the theatre. The boy is friends with the military and helps them by donating money from the sale of his paintings. Max dreams that his native Berdyansk, temporarily occupied by Russian invaders, will be returned to Ukraine soon. To date, he has donated approximately half a million hryvnias, equivalent to around £8,000, to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The teenager paints his works at night because of his autism spectrum disorder, since ASD makes him hypersensitive to light.
He taught himself to paint and chose the pseudonym ‘Cosmo-Max.’
‘The little Ukrainian Picasso’ is what admirers of Maxim Brovchenko’s artistic talent call him in Ukraine and abroad. His artworks have been exhibited in galleries across Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Mykolaiv, with most of his exhibitions taking place in Zaporizhzhia.
This is where the teenager relocated with his mother shortly after the full-scale invasion began. I had the opportunity to meet this 13-year-old self-taught artist in the frontline city.
“I began painting when I was eight,” Maxim recalls. “It was during the lockdown when we weren’t allowed to go outside. To keep myself occupied at home, I decided to try something new. Initially, I drew with colored chalk that I had left over from kindergarten, rubbing it on the canvas with my fingers until I got blisters. Then, following my mum’s advice, I switched to oil paints.”
Maxim taught himself to paint by watching YouTube videos, translating what he absorbed subconsciously onto canvas. His first paintings focused on space, as he had dreamed of becoming an astrophysicist since early childhood.
His mother, Oksana Brovchenko, became the primary supporter of her son’s hobby. When she saw his artwork, she encouraged him to share it on social media, which led to the creation of his Facebook page, “Cosmo-Max,” a pseudonym he had created for himself. According to Oksana, the initial responses from subscribers were overwhelmingly positive, motivating Maxim to continue developing his skills.
“Max is a special child; he can only draw at night because he is sensitive to light,” explains Oksana. “He has classic autism, which I discovered when he was six months old, and specialists in the capital confirmed my suspicions. My older son is also autistic, but they are completely different, as though existing in two parallel worlds. To better understand my children, I studied psychology.
Predicted and drew the war
In her reflections on her son’s artwork, Oksana Brovchenko observes that he has an uncanny ability to intuitively depict the future. Notably, about six months before the full-scale Russian invasion, dark colors began to dominate his paintings. Rather than the space-themed works he used to create, he started drawing scenes that depicted bloodshed. At that time, Max was already studying at home due to frequent reports of fake bomb threats at schools in Berdiansk, prompting his mother to keep him indoors for safety.
“I thought Max had just watched too many horror films,” recalls Oksana. “I tried to calm him down, but nothing worked. As time went on, his anxiety only grew. My son insisted that war was imminent and warned me that it would be terrible.”
On the night of February 24, 2022, Maksym Brovchenko struggled to sleep. Extremely anxious, he paced around the house, and his mother couldn’t convince him to go to bed. Eventually, exhausted, he fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, only to be awoken by explosions. That night, Russian forces shelled Berdiansk, and by early March, the city was under occupation.
Oksana realized that staying in Berdiansk was dangerous for both her and her son. She noted that people with autism typically speak very honestly and are unable to hide their emotions. Even at the age of ten, Max was well-informed about politics and understood who was responsible for the war.
“Once, while we were out for a walk, we encountered an enemy patrol,” Ms. Brovchenko recalls. “When the Russian soldiers approached us, my son looked them straight in the eye and said, ‘Go to hell!’ I was terrified; my legs nearly buckled as I feared they would shoot us on the spot. Fortunately, the patrolmen didn’t hear or understand what he said and simply drove past.”
After that frightening encounter, Oksana decided it was time to leave the city. They managed to pass through all the enemy checkpoints without any issues. However, to prevent a repeat of the incident with the soldiers, she followed the advice of a doctor she knew and gave Max a sleeping pill.
He writes books about people with ASD and plays in the theatre
In early April 2022, the Brovchenko family from Berdiansk was warmly welcomed in the frontline city of Zaporizhzhia. There, they found many friends who supported them. The young Max enjoys a fulfilling life; he studies online, travels with his mother in his free time, rides a skateboard and scooter with his peers, and collects chevron patches. Most importantly, both mother and son are able to pursue their passions in this new environment. Oksana Brovchenko writes patriotic songs and music, while Maxim explores his creativity through drawing and writing.
With the support of the international organisation ‘Foundation for Children with Autism “Child with a Future’, he published his first book, ‘Planet A’, about a year and a half ago. In this book, the teenager tells a fantastic story about aliens who arrive on Earth after being forced to leave their home planet, Atlantis, due to dark forces that destroyed it. On Earth, the aliens are referred to as autistic individuals who struggle to adapt to the realities of life on this planet.
“Their planet had different gravity, which is why they are so clumsy here,” explains Oksana Brovchenko. “The lighting is completely different on Atlantis, which also affects how the Atlanteans react to Earth’s light.” The main character in Max’s book is himself, though under a different name. He aims to convey to readers that autistic people are just like everyone else, with slight differences in behavior and brain structure.
Upon its release, the book garnered the attention of many psychologists who work with individuals on the autism spectrum, and ‘Planet A’ was translated and published into Czech. The talented young author is currently working on a sequel and is also exploring acting. Recently, the chief director of the Zaporizhzhia Academic Regional Theatre for Young Audiences, Hennadii Fortus, invited Max to play the role of 13-year-old Christopher, a boy with autism, in the thriller ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’, based on the play by British playwright Simon Stephens. Theatre critics note that this production is not just a story about a special teenager; it also explores themes of truth, trust, love, and finding one’s place in life.
“Christopher is a character who is very similar to me, and I relate to him,” said Maxim Brovchenko. “I tried to experience a few days of his life in just a couple of hours on stage.”
Another mother who was given the gift of stardom
The young man acknowledges that it is not an easy task. He had to acclimatise to the atmosphere of the theater and put in significant effort, but he successfully embraced the role. The audience responded with thunderous applause to the young actor’s performance. Among those in the hall, Maxim Brovchenko’s two mothers were particularly thrilled with his successful acting debut: his biological mother and his ‘star’ mother, whom he met in June 2022 in Zaporizhzhia.
“At that time, the State Emergency Service was organizing an event called ‘Children Rescuers — Heroes of the War,’” recalls the head of the media relations and public affairs department of the State Emergency Service in the Zaporizhzhia region, Yulia Barysheva,
“We were looking for children who had shown courage and were helping us move closer to victory. Fellow journalists advised me to pay attention to Maksym Brovchenko, a young artist who had moved from Berdiansk. He sold his painting and donated the money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. When we first met, Max ran up to me and stood right in front of me. We just looked at each other, and I felt as if he was reading my thoughts. At that moment, I realized our meeting was not by chance and that Max was an extraordinary child. He has a bright future ahead of him.”
During discussions with Max and his mother, it became evident that they needed assistance. Oksana shared that her son has autism spectrum disorder (ACD), which makes him sensitive to bright lights and loud noises. Yulia Barysheva noted that the rescuers took them under their wing, helping them find a place where Max feels comfortable and assisting them in settling in.
A few months later, it was revealed that the boy had become a laureate of the ‘Children Rescuers – Heroes of the War’ campaign. At the award ceremony, Cosmo-Max met Volodymyr Zelensky, who presented him with a telescope, a long-held dream of the teenager. In return, Max gifted Olena Zelenska a painting he had created for her.
“When my husband and I visited Max on August 24, he also gave me one of his paintings,” says Yulia Barysheva. “It depicts our island of Khortytsia, showcasing nature along with a boy and a girl. Maksym then told me that he considers me his ‘star’ mother. He believes there are different types of mothers: biological, adoptive, surrogate, and godmothers. To him, I am a star mother – not because of the stars on my epaulettes, but because he feels that the stars brought me to him. Since that moment, our friendship has deepened into something more meaningful. I have taken on the responsibility for this child and now consider Max a part of my family.”
A young artist with a big heart
We spoke with Oksana and Max Brovchenko in the office of Yulia Barysheva, the head of the press service of the Zaporizhzhia region rescue service. I noticed that Max felt at home there. He was eager to talk, sharing details about his studies and his favourite subjects: English and history. He mentioned that another exhibition of his artworks would soon open in Zaporizhzhia. Max explained that he now focuses on painting pictures with more patriotic themes.
He sells most of his works at auctions and donates the proceeds to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
I asked him about the famous people, aside from the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, who had received his works. He replied that he had given his paintings to General Valery Zaluzhny, who was then the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and to Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. He is currently preparing gifts for paramedic and volunteer Yulia Paevska, as well as for Serhiy Prytula, the founder of a charitable foundation and a public figure.
I inquired, “And this painting with an angel that is displayed in your mother’s office – is it for Prytula or Paevska?”
“It’s for the parents of three-year-old Tymofii, the youngest victim of the Russian rocket attack on Kryvyi Rih in April this year,” Max replied. “I want to give the painting as a sign that I share their pain… if, of course, the boy’s parents accept this gift. I understand that it won’t alleviate their suffering, but I want to support the family of the deceased child in some small way.”
Oksana Brovchenko added that her son takes every tragedy affecting Ukrainian families to heart. She noted that this was the second painting he had created following the death of Ukrainian children due to Russian actions.
“In 2022, the Russians shelled Vinnytsia,” Oksana recounted. “A four-year-old girl named Liza, a girl with Downs Syndrome, was killed. Her mother later wrote on social media that she had become the mother of an angel. When Max heard about this, he drew pictures of angels, including one of little Liza. He gave the picture to her grieving mother, who later thanked him sincerely on social media.”
Zaporizhzhia is a frontline city, with shelling occurring every week. I asked if they had considered moving to a safer region or leaving Ukraine entirely.
“There was an opportunity to leave the country, but Max refused,” explained Yulia Barysheva. “His belief in Ukraine’s victory is unwavering and unbreakable. He believes that his place is here.”
Author: Lyudmila Pryimachuk
Ukrainian editor: Anastasia Zanuzdanova
English editor: Helen Lewis
Photo: Oksana Brovchenko, Lyudmyla Pryimachuk
