On February 2, Kyiv hosted the first All-Ukrainian Animal Protection Award ceremony, which was founded by the animal protection organization UAnimals and the inter-factional association “Humane State”.
Anyone interested in social networks and visiting the UAnimals website could nominate the volunteers they know for this award, and the expert jury selected 20 winners from hundreds of applicants.
The award was given to people who selflessly save animals even when they themselves are in peril. These are people with bright souls and kind hearts who constantly emphasize that there is no heroism in their work. The nominees are animal protection volunteers from the Chernihiv, Kyiv, Zaporizhya, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Sumy regions of Ukraine as well as activists from Italy and Bulgaria:
- Diana Nasibova
- Asya Wilhelmivna Serpinska
- Olesya Kulyk
- Natalya Popova
- Tatyana Didenko
- Eleonora Krutova
- Anastasia Tykha
- Marina Surkova
- Mykhailo Storozhuk
- Andrea Cisternino
- Oleksandra Levitska
- Evgenia Prokopenko
- Oleksandr Syplenko
animal rights activist from Berdyansk (for security reasons, the name will be announced after the deoccupation of the city) - Sergiy Grigoriev
- Olena Pylova
- Iryna and Oleg Tyutyuny
- Svetlana Ostapkova
- Petya Petrova
- Oleksiy Kisilyshyn, a deceased animal rights activist from Azov, whose parents received the award.
“We are sure that tens of thousands of people in Ukraine deserve all the awards, because they selflessly save lives, help the Armed Forces of Ukraine and ordinary Ukrainians who have experienced losses due to the war. Every day we meet extraordinary people: those who do not abandon animals in even the most difficult of times, take them to safe areas despite the many threats to their own lives, hug our fluffy friends so that they do not panic during shelling, give their last plate of porridge to a hungry animal,” says UAnimals founder Oleksandr Todorchuk.
The jury included:
? Oleksandr Todorchuk, the founder of the humanist movement UAnimals and the initiator of the creation of the Humane State IFA, a serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
? Yuliya Ovchinnikova, co-head of the Humane Country IFA. People’s deputy of Ukraine.
?Alina Mykhaylova, Ukrainian volunteer, serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, public activist.
?Daniel Cox, Head of Campaigning at PETA Germany.
?Masi Nayem, Ukrainian lawyer, serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, public figure, human rights defender.
?Celine Sisler-Bienvenue, Program Director for Disaster Response and Risk Reduction in Europe at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
In opposition to the russian invasion, Ukrainians prove themselves to be free, dignified and compassionate people. We fight for every life because we see absolute value in it. UAnimals wants the public to know about the good, sometimes fantastic deeds of our fellow citizens, and for the world community to witness the powerful force that is our humanity.
Photo: Dan Balashov