Olena is described to me as a military woman who is “crazy about animals”. “She used to serve in our unit, and she always had animals with her. She took a lot of them home to Kyiv,” her brother-in-arms tells me. When I contact her, I am filled with surprise. It turns out that she is the Olena Bilozerska, who has been inspiring many with her bravery since 2014. Olena is a former journalist and a blogger. She first served as a sharpshooter in the The Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps was founded on July 17, 2014, as one of the volunteer battalions. It was created as a response to the rise of pro-russian separatism and the russian intervention in Donbas. (Adapted from Wikipedia)Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps. Later, she joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces after completing artillery training.

She loves poetry and painting, and she always has companion animals by her side. Many of them were rescued by the soldiers, and taken out of the war zone.

I spoke with Olena about the animals that accompany her on the front line and away from it.

Dogs on the front line

Are there any animals on the front line?

Yes, I have many stories about that. The most dramatic one is about a Cane Corso dog named Vasia. His human was part of the 503rd Separate Marine Battalion, where I was stationed at the time. The dog accompanied this guy everywhere, even in the trenches on duty. The dog even carried some stuff. One day, Vasia vanished. Soldiers were searching for him. They raised the drone and discovered something they’d rather not see. Vasia got into a trap. He became entangled in the wire near the trenches. It was nearly impossible to save him since you couldn’t slip in unnoticed. The recon guys were planning to evacuate the dog at night, but they did not manage to do it…

Because Vasia came back! He chewed off his paw and ran back on his three. He did not want to stay in captivity. He was sent to his human’s parents, and then I made Vasia famous by writing about his fate. His story got a lot of publicity, everyone admired him. Eventually, he received treatment and a prosthetic at the best clinic in Poland.

Does it happen that animals help you in combat missions?

In the fall of 2014, an old dog came to us in the village of Vodiane near the Donetsk airport. He went with our recon group on all the trips to the gray zone. Of course, we didn’t want to take the dog with us, so we shushed him away. He ran away at first, but then somehow knew which way we were going and waited for us at some crossroads. This dog ended up helping us a lot. He ran 20 meters ahead of the group and removed the tripwires. A human would have been, at the very least, seriously injured, but the dog was fine, because he is short compared to a human and runs fast. When he heard the “pop” of the detonator capsule, he managed to escape from the area hit by the debris 3-4 seconds before the explosion. So everyone was safe, both people and the dog.

How Efka was exchanged for F-1 grenades

You have a lot of photos of a red puppy. What’s the story here?

That’s Efka, the Belgian Shepherd mix. My friend and I found her beneath a kiosk along the highway in the summer of 2016. The guys named her Efka because when she was a small, round puppy, she resembled an F-1 grenade in her body form.

She went with us to the battlefield and was wounded. We rescued her as we would a wounded soldier. We drove her to the hospital at night, got a vet out of bed, took care of her, changed her bandages, and gave her injections… When I went on military duty, Efka had to be on a leash so that she wouldn’t run after me.

One day I was lying sick at our base near Mariupol, and my husband left early in the morning to go to another city to run some errands. Efka followed him to the bus stop. There he got on the bus and left, and she stayed there. He was sure that she would return to the base by herself.

By the next morning, she was gone. My husband and I went to that bus stop, asked people, put up posters — half the city was covered with them. We bought a battery-powered loudspeaker to drive around in the car and play announcements about our missing Efka… She was found three days later. Realizing that she was not going to get home, she followed people in military uniform and came with them to the military base of the Azov brigade. They left her there, and then they saw the poster and brought her. Of course, they didn’t want any money, but I gave them a few F-1 grenades for taking care of my Efka.

The silver one, the whiny one and the artillery one

And what about your relationship with cats?

The very first cat I had was called Vatnik, also called Komochok or Komtsia, a black kitten with a short broken tail. He was named Vatnik because in 2014, all the animals picked up in the Donetsk region were named either “Separ” refers to russian separatist troops in Ukraine, namely in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They were also known as russian proxy forces. This term carries a negative meaning and is commonly used to convey outrage, condemnation, or disapproval. (Adapted from Wikipedia)Separ or The word "Vatnik" refers to avid supporters of russian propaganda. (Adapted from Wikipedia)Vatnik. He arrived at the rear base and then accompanied me everywhere, including several advance bases (a few kilometers from the front line). When I went on military missions, he remained at these bases. He didn’t want to let me leave. When he noticed me getting ready to go, he grabbed my legs and yelled. When we were under fire, he’d drag me to safety by my leg. He went with me through many very dangerous places, but died on peaceful territory. He died after catching a poisoned rat. The rest of my pets are luckily still alive. 

A few months after Efka, Silver, a kitten of the Neva Masquerade breed, appeared. A soldier found him somewhere, and we took him. He was a very smart cat, but he was also sick.

Another dog, Shkavulik, grew up with the cat. In early December, a stray dog brought puppies to our basement. All nine of these puppies got sick with enteritis. On New Year’s Eve, my room at the base turned into a dog hospital. We managed to save only four of them. I decided to keep the smallest puppy.

I named him Shkavulik (in Ukrainian, “the whiny one”) since he was constantly crying pitifully. Shkavulik grew up with Silver, they adopted each other’s behaviors. Silver growled and tried to bark, Shkavulik chased after mice… And when other people’s cats came into the yard, the trio would chase them away. Efka and Shkavulik would chase the bird into a tree, and then Silver would climb up to deal with it.

All three of them, big Efka (weighing 30 kg), Shkavulik, and Silver, slept with me in my bed. There were rugs, but they wanted to sleep with me, and it was impossible to keep them away.

It was very difficult to feed them, because we were unpaid volunteers who did not have salaries. It got to the point where we had to take the other two dogs that came to our base and give them to other soldiers who lived better than we did.

Later, while I was an artillerywoman in the Ukrainian Marine Corps, I discovered a three-colored cat on a training site near Melitopol. I named him Busol (or Busia). Busol literally means “artillery compass”. She traveled with me to Exercise Sea Breeze, and there, American marines wanted to get her from me and take her to their ship. Busia is a Maine Coon mix. She weighs 6-7 kilograms. She’s also a really picky lady. She lets you pet her only when she wants to.

When the full-scale invasion exploded, the dogs, Efka and Shkavulik, were living with my father-in-law in the Cherkasy region. The cats, Silver, Busia and Kasia, were living at my home in Kyiv. I sent them to my father-in-law as well. When the war is over, I will take them back. In the meantime, they are growing up and getting older without me.

What do cats write in secret chats?

How do other soldiers behave towards your animals?

They are mostly animal lovers. However, there are people with different household habits. One of my now deceased brother-in-arms, for example, was a clean freak. We used to sleep on mattresses on the floor, and my dogs would go on those mattresses with their dirty paws after the rain. So many guys were grumbling about that, especially the one that loved cleaning. The animals and I even had to relocate to a different home. It was a risky maneuver because everything was taking place in a village on the front line that was frequently bombarded by the russian troops.

Do cats and dogs disrupt your work?

No, not in combat missions because we don’t take them directly into battle. And if they are in the trenches with us, they sneak away when it gets hot, as if they are not present. But when you work on a laptop, not even the greatest cat bed can match the excitement of a keyboard for cats. Their life revolves around lying on the keyboard. No amount of treats will distract them from their laptop. They don’t just lie there; they type messages in secret military chats, such as “trrrrrrrr” and “aaaaaa”.

When the commander reads this, he asks, “Have you been drinking there, or what?”. And among those reading this, there will definitely be a soldier who knows what’s going on. He will write plainly, “That’s the cat”.

I have also stories of cats running somewhere at night, and you take your rifle with a thermal imaging scope and go “hunting” for your own cat.

Can an animal somehow improve your mood or the mood of the people around you?

Oh, they’re experts at this Simply petting a cat or a dog makes you feel better. You kiss the fluffy one or the plushie-looking one on the forehead, one of them licks you, and you feel like you have something to live for.

A woman in a uniform gets out of a car. “You are early,” she says to me. She’s got soft features but looks confident and even strict. Meet Pilla Osborn, a dog behaviorist and the chief administrator at an animal shelter in the city of Tartu, Estonia. 

You can’t hear barking in the parking lot, as it would be in Ukraine. You can’t really tell that there are dogs’ enclosures behind the fence. The entrance is a clean glass door. To get inside, one has to call the administrator first. Usually, Pilla comes and brings a guest inside the shelter. 

Don’t you think that it’s easy to get an animal if you come to adopt! First, you have to pass Pilla’s test. 

Pilla Osborn told UAnimals media about the life of Estonian shelters, whether they rely on charitable donations, and how cat Tikku found a new family. She also explained why it’s not always easy to take good photos with friendly cats and what you need to do to adopt an animal from an Estonian shelter.

Stray animals in Estonia: 3 animal catchers for half of a country 

Is there a problem with stray animals in Estonia? 

Not so much with dogs. Most dogs have their people. Right now, basically, all the dogs in our shelter came from their owners, who gave them to us. But there is a problem with cats. We are doing a lot of spaying here, and we promote spaying and neutering. But we don’t see any dropping of levels that way. Somehow there are still cats wandering in the fields, countryside, bringing tons of young ones. All these animals end up here.

Who brings cats to the shelter? 

People are calling us when there is a situation. These cats are not friendly. If they get feral for a couple of generations, people usually can’t catch them. This is an animal catcher’s job. 

We use the traps for that. We haven’t used an animal capture gun for 7 years for sure. The gun works with dogs. You can’t use it with cats. Besides, we need to have a veterinarian. You have to guess the dog’s weight to know how much medication to put in that gun. The animal is far away from you. How much does it weigh? You can approximate, but you can’t know for sure. So it’s a life-and-death situation. Maybe you hit the animal in the wrong place. Maybe you put in too much of that medication. Because of that, we don’t use it at all. We do have one gun here, though.

What happens after you receive a call? 

We want to know everything from the person who called us: When they saw the animal, how often, and where the animal usually goes. That is so we can plan out catching ways or time. 

So animal catchers go on long trips to cover several places at once?

Yes, exactly. We have a schedule for that. Earlier calls get responded to earlier, and so on. The catchers work every day, and not just in Tartu. Every county needs to deal with the problem of stray animals, so they need to hire some shelter to do the work for them. Our shelter is prominent in Tartu County, but we are hired by half of the counties in Estonia. We have 3 catchers.

3 catchers for half of Estonia?

Exactly! We plan a lot. Even if the animal catcher is in a faraway county, we need to cover Tartu city first. We must respond to Tartu city calls in one hour because we have a contract with the city. 

Shelters in Estonia: How Do They Work?  

What happens to a cat when it comes to the shelter?

First, we have to see if the animal has a microchip. If so, we can call the owner immediately. They can come to pick the cat up. In Estonia, we can’t have any animals walking outside by themselves. If that is the case, we need to talk with the owner. That would be the best situation. 

If there’s no chip, we take pictures. We put it up on our webpage, and for the first 14 days, we need to wait for the previous owner to notice that animal on our webpage. By law, we need to keep the animal here for 14 days. 

A cat lives in a cage. Cats need to feel that no other cat can come into their territory. But the territory is small. It’s just that cage.

After 14 days, the cortisol levels are dropping. Cats get used to a cage life and surroundings, so they are not acting in defensive aggression. 

We have different rooms for cats. At first, they are in a quarantine room. If the cat doesn’t have a microchip, a veterinarian comes here and does the procedures: vaccinations, dewormer, and flea medication. After 14 days, if the cat is friendly and happy, it goes to get spaying/neutering in the clinic. 

The clinic needs to make sure that the cat doesn’t have FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus), which is like HIV for people. For that, they are taking blood. 

If the animal has FIV, this means euthanasia. Lots of stray cats in Estonia have that. Cats get it through bites in catfights. We don’t have any cure for that. On average a cat lives 6 to 7 years after that bite. It’s contagious to other cats. When the disease progresses, organs shut down one by one. With the blood test, you can say if it has it, but you can’t say how long it has had it. Before everything goes bad, we think it’s humane to do euthanasia.

If the cat doesn’t have the disease, we come and collect it. Then the animal is waiting for adoption. 

Dogs that had an owner, do not need all the veterinary procedures. The only thing is that we still have to wait 14 days, and then the dog can live in a shelter in a kennel until possible adoption. We have volunteers coming to walk the dogs. There’s volunteer schooling once a month.

How many animals are there in the shelter now?

Right now, we have 33 dogs, and the cats … exactly 100. So that’s 133 animals.

Is your shelter considered to be small or big in Estonia? 

I have no idea about other shelters. We are very transparent, but I know shelters that don’t even let you in. It’s hard to get the information. 

Who owns the shelter? 

Tartu City does. This is a municipal shelter.

Are there private shelters in Estonia?

There are some private shelters popping up here and there. People are trying to do the same thing we do in their living rooms. It’s not really in the law, what is a shelter and what isn’t. So any activist can start saving animals, hoping for donations. 

Was this place designed as a shelter?

Yes, it was. We have worked here since 2006. This building that we are in right now is a year old. Before that, we had a 4 square meters office here, which wasn’t built as a shelter. The city actually built that house.

Does a vet or a nurse work here?  

We have contracts with 2 veterinarians. One comes once a day. An animal caretaker from the shelter helps instead of a nurse. 

Do you receive donations?

We do need donations. The city does not pay for spaying and neutering. Donations are very important for veterinary care. My paycheck is from the government. The city needs to provide money for each animal for 14 days, and then we are all alone. This is when donations come in.

Who usually donates?

Ordinary people, who see our work and the passion that we are doing it with. 

Do you organize any fundraising campaigns? 

No, we feel really bad about it because everybody else is gathering money, mostly these independent pop-ups. They are also exploiting animals that are really sick. For example, an animal needs a heart transplant. It has to pull human strings. We believe that people are getting tired of all those “help me” things. So we try not to do that at all. We want to provide the best life for animals here, the best service to the community. We try to get specialists who want to learn more. So people see it all and donate with free will. And we try to make tomorrow a better day than yesterday was.

A Look Inside: Unneighbourly Dogs and Individualistic Cats

To get to the courtyard, we pass the staff room. The girls are having lunch, and next to them, there is a big red dog. They decided to give him some individual attention. He comes and licks me.

Each dog has a kennel in the yard. Pilla explains the nuances of choosing how to fit the dogs next to each other.

 “They live separately but the communication is still intense. So we have to see who fits next to whom.”

I know that time is of the essence here, so I move quickly. At one point, I start running with a camera to take a picture of a dog.

“Never, never run in a shelter!” Pilla stops me sternly.

Next, we go to the cat house. There are two rooms: one with larger cages and another with smaller cages. The one with the smaller cages houses cats following surgery. The other features a larger two-story residence.  

“Each cage is divided into two floors. Upstairs is the space for living and resting, and downstairs is the kitchen and the toilet in the other corner. Although the cage is relatively small, the cat feels safe, because no other cat will enter the territory. Only one cage is cleaned at a time. The cat is out for a little walk through the room. Usually, the cats jump on the windowsill and watch what the dogs are doing outside.”

Each cage has a card with a name and different markings. “On a diet” is written on one.

“Each card has a number on it. It’s an animal’s serial number. It indicates when the animal came to the shelter. We also often write ‘reserved’ here. It means that someone has already decided to take the animal home.”

I try to take pictures of the residents of the shelter in Tartu, but the cats turn away.

“The camera is like a big eye looking at them. So they can be uncomfortable. Friendly cats, shy cats would turn around and hide, but aggressive cats would stare at it and kind of attack it. So there are usually better pictures with aggressive cats.”

Next to the room with the cages, there is also a separate room with a cat den and photos of tigers on the walls. One or two cats who have been in the shelter the longest live here. The previous resident has just moved out, so now the next one is moving in, the one on a diet.

The kittens have a separate house. At the entrance, there is a sanitizer for both feet and hands. However, the kittens are not touched so that they do not catch diseases. On the wall, there is a board with kittens’ names and flags pinned to it. The kitty with the blue flag is sick, and the one with the yellow flag needs medication.

“I am a professional in dogs’ behavior,” Pilla says, “but I am an enthusiast in cat psychology. I am excited about them, and I even take work home! We have lots of kittens, and they are feral. I take kittens home to socialize them so they have individual attention, and I can turn them friendly so that they can find homes better. But I don’t get paid for that at all.”

How does your family react?

I have a dog and a cat. And I have a husband. My husband thought that he had not liked cats at all when we got married. That was 9 years ago. And now he is asking me, “Hey, which one are you bringing home tomorrow?” He is working from home. So I need to train him to train the kittens.

Tikku is leaving for a new home 

As we talk, an elderly couple comes to the office with a pet carrier. A big furry cat sits inside. 

Pilla makes some notes.

“This cat’s name is Tikku. He has been living with us for the longest time, since my birthday on November 26. He lived in a separate room.”

There were 2 outside cats in a summer home, Tikku and Takku. Both were brought here. People took them into an apartment. There they had a female cat. Catfights started happening because the people didn’t do the introduction perfectly. Fighting over the female cat, Takku got beaten up by Tikku, who’s a really big cat. The people didn’t want to deal with the fights. Today Tikku goes to a new home. The couple takes him. They have had cats before. It’s not their first visit here. If you want an animal, you have to come here multiple times to get to know each other.

Is that a rule?

Yes. From an animal’s point of view, it’s important. They haven’t been in your place, so it would be best if they knew you ahead. In that way they have a comfort person already. That is animal psychology that we are learning a lot about.

How does it work if someone wants to adopt an animal?

They come on visiting hours and tell us what cat or dog they are interested in. I’m walking with every person so I can read their energy and the animal’s energy and say if it is a good or a bad idea. I want to know everything about them. We can ask if they want an outside cat. Then we can say, “I’m sorry, we don’t give cats outside. It works the other way: We are taking cats from the streets.” I ask if they have other animals at home. There are some cats who don’t tolerate any other animals. They think they are the only cat on Earth. Maybe that cat is not right for you then. Do you have little kids at home? What is your daily schedule? How much time can you have with this animal? How can you help this animal to socialize better? When we put up dogs for adoption, sometimes there are several candidates. We even decide who will take the dog. It’s a lot of paperwork. But with cats, there’s nothing like that. Many people don’t want to deal with problems and just bring them back.                  

Does it happen that people return animals?

Exactly, for whatever reason. Taking an animal is not a fairytale. You need to go to the dog school. You need to be financially in a good place. You need to think about 15 years of the dog’s life being with you, not just take this puppy at random. Or giving animals as gifts. We don’t approve of it here.

When you handed Tikku over, you crossed something out on a piece of paper over there, on the wall. It looks like a detective board! 

We do an advertisement on our webpage. We put pictures there, and Tikku’s picture had been there for the longest time. Since they have been there for so long, we promote them to get to new homes. We know more about them, and we make little stories about them. Maybe people can see something that pulls at their heartstrings and think, “This cat is for me.” I’m crossing over whoever goes home.

It seems to me that everyone is crossed out, right?

Not yet, but most of the cats are! 

What comes to mind when you think about a wild hamster? If you just imagined a Syrian hamster, which is often kept as a pet, you might get the wrong impression about its Ukrainian relative. It is a real giant among rodents, as the largest ones weigh more than a kilogram!

The European, black-bellied hamster, or common hamster, is a true fighter for a place in the sun. It will desperately chase away anyone who tries to cross its borders. However, the European hamster, despite its fiery character, is under the threat of extinction. It is marked by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species as an endangered species.

The European hamster is fond of Ukrainian gardens, so many people think of it as a dangerous pest. “According to my estimate, more than a thousand hamsters are getting exterminated in Ukraine every year,” says zoologist Mykhailo Rusin. “Sometimes a video of a wild hamster will pop up on YouTube or TikTok. Half of the comments under it are something like ‘What a cutie’, and the other half: ‘This pest must be killed immediately’. When we write that it is a Red Data Book animal, the response is usually: ‘Then come and get your precious hamster out of my garden!’” That’s exactly what Mykhailo once did and founded the Hamster Rescue Center.

The team of experts actually catches wild hamsters in the area, provides them with medical treatment, and releases them into the wild. This initiative earned Mykhailo a special award at the 2024 Animal Protection Award by UAnimals.

Ready to throw hands

Does the European hamster have the behavioral features that other animals do not?

Yes, a defense stance. If a hamster is threatened by a person or animal, it stands on its hind legs and jumps at the perpetrator, trying to drive it away. This is a very characteristic behavior.

The hamster is a greedy animal. This is an adaptation technique to life in nature. It gathers food and stuffs it behind its cheeks, then brings it to the burrow and hits its cheeks, knocking it all out. When a hamster runs with stuffed cheeks, they are wider than its body. You know, it looks like a hammerhead shark with those big cheeks.

What does a wild hamster do during the day?

Hamsters can come out of their burrows during the day, but the main period of their activity is nighttime. Then the hamster gathers food and brings it into its burrow, into a special pantry. It eats plants, but it can also eat insects, even small mice or eggs of small birds.

By the way, the hamster never crawls into the soil, eating potatoes or carrots. This is done by completely different species.

What does the European hamster do in winter time?

Normally, it sleeps. It goes through a true hibernation. The body temperature drops to 8 degrees Celsius, and the heart slows down to one beat per minute. Like all species that are inactive in winter, the hamster puts on weight in the fall. It eats a lot to store fat. It also stores food in the pantry so that it has something to eat when it wakes up.

Aggressive dating strategy 

How do wild hamsters interact with each other?

They are true loners and do not form families. The male and female live separately, and they often beat and bite each other with their paws. A female can even kill a male — this frequently happens during mating. Although males are usually bigger, females are more aggressive and fight harder.

During their stay in our center, we always put them separately to prevent fights. If they are kept in groups, there is a high chance that only one will survive.

How do they react to other species?

Wild hamsters do not run from a fight. They get into their defense stance and start jumping to defend or attack. Sometimes, a hamster tries to chase away a dog or a cat in this way. Despite this, cats often kill hamsters, and this is a big problem.

Why do wild hamsters disappear? 

We have already mentioned that the wild hamster is endangered. How critical is the situation?

It is predicted that by 2050, hamsters as a species will simply disappear. This is based on a mathematical model built on birth and death rates. The hamster is a species that produces a lot of offspring. Under ideal conditions, a female is able to give birth to babies three times a year, and each litter can contain 6, 8, or even 10 hamsters.

This used to be the case, but in the last decade, litters have been produced only once a year. The number of babies in a litter is also decreasing.

In nature, the hamster does not care much about its offspring. The female usually leaves the young in about a month. At the same time, they have a high mortality rate, primarily due to predators.

If the modeled trend continues, scientists predict that the species may disappear completely.

Why is life getting worse for the wild hamster?

The climate is warming up, and winters are now less stable. Previously, the European hamster used to hibernate in November and sleep until March. Now it’s snowing, and on New Year’s Eve it’s raining, and then it’s snowing again… And the hamster goes to sleep and wakes up.

This is a very high energy expenditure. If the hamster is constantly in this change, the animal is exhausted. European hamsters often die during the thaw.

Wild hamsters are also threatened by many pesticides in the fields. The decline of small-scale farming also plays a role here. This is very important, as hamsters have always had plenty of high-calorie food in small gardens. Now, however, they are increasingly finding themselves in huge fields planted with a single crop. This is what the animal has to eat. However, according to research by French scientists, a mono-diet worsens a hamster’s health.

Do military actions affect hamsters?

I suppose so. There was a population of European hamsters northeast of Kharkiv. And it was through the area where the hamsters lived that the offensive took place in 2022. Everything there was dug up. There were trenches everywhere, and they became traps for animals.

The main thing is the human factor. Sometimes I see someone urging people to keep European hamsters at home. Such suggestions are criminal. Ukrainian laws prohibit keeping Red Data Book species at home.

Sometimes someone either buys European hamsters or offers to pay people for them at the center. This is such a shock to me! Red Book animals and plants should not be sold, ever, and to anyone.

I’ll just have a bite —the hamster’s motto

Why do hamsters go from the meadows to vegetable gardens?

They come there to eat. This creates a dangerous trap. On the one hand, hamsters like the fact that there is a lot of varied and tasty food there. On the other hand, people want to get rid of them, kill them, because they consider them pests. Moreover, cats and dogs also try to catch them. The Hamster Rescue Center exists to safely remove the European hamster from the human area.

Hamsters love berries, fruits, and vegetables. In the garden, they nibble on the vegetable and are not interested in the stem. They like to bite into sugar beets. They especially like strawberries. The wild hamster does not eat one strawberry completely but runs around and bites a piece off many berries. Sometimes it does it also with beets, zucchini, and cucumbers.

Once in the Rivne region, people saw a hamster and told us about it. They said that it didn’t really bother them. Until they saw how many strawberries had bite marks! We caught the hamster and relocated it.

Can it make a hole right in the garden?

Yes, but this is more common in places where people don’t walk much or where the yard is neglected. For example, elderly owners can’t weed out all the wild plants, and somewhere under a pear tree a hamster digs a hole. Or sometimes it looks for a place under a shed or under an outdoor toilet.

It’s quite easy to distinguish a European hamster’s burrow, but it takes some experience. Usually, it is a large hole. Often an entire arm can go into it. The tunnel goes either vertically downward or at a 45-degree angle. If it is a hole for winter, the depth is up to two meters. There may also be a mound, especially in early spring. If the hamster hibernates there, it clears the hole and takes out the soil. 

Note that hamsters never make surface horizontal passages. Those mean that moles or voles have been at work. Or even blind mole-rats, especially if it’s eastern or southern Ukraine.

How do people usually treat wild hamsters?

A woman from Kharkiv contacted us and asked what she should plant in her garden so that hamsters could live there! It seems that her neighbors had wild hamsters. She asked, “How can I make it so that I have more wild hamsters than them?” We agreed that she would grow alfalfa in half of her garden because wild hamsters love it. This story makes me quite happy.

The point is not in saving a few dozen hamsters from gardens but in gradually changing people’s attitudes towards animals. We want to move in the direction of having people treat them with more compassion.

From the garden into the wild

Let’s imagine that I see tiny bites on vegetables and realize I have a hamster in my garden. What should I do?

I would ask you to provide some proof. Show us a photo of the animal or a video on your phone. Sometimes people manage to film the hamster. But if a person has just seen a wild hamster and can adequately describe it, then we believe them.

If we find out that it is indeed a European hamster, we first persuade people not to kill it. And then we can go to their place. There we will try to catch the animal and release it somewhere away from people.

How can you catch a wild hamster?

It doesn’t look like an action movie. The hamster is nocturnal, so what do you do? Run around at night with night vision goggles? The hamster runs, and you chase it? It does not work like that. In the daytime, we inspect the area, find traces of vital activity, and then set up special live traps. If there are burrows, we set them near the burrows.

We put bait inside. The wild hamster does not miss anything tasty, and it will definitely get in there.

People without experience should not do this, even if they have good intentions. Hamsters can die. We have never had this happen because we are professionals.

There are all sorts of methods people use, like pouring water over the holes, but it’s just cruel.

Do you immediately put them in a box and take them away from people?

We transport them in a trap, as it serves like a cage. We try to release them where there are already wild hamsters so that the animal can find a mate. But we don’t do a “hard release”, when you just open the cage door, kick it under the butt, and move on! It may look good on video, as the animal runs beautifully away from the cage. However, this method cannot be used with a hamster.

If you release a bison or a wild boar, you just open the door for it and it goes away. No one can do anything to it. But literally everyone wants to kill or eat a hamster: birds of prey, ferrets, cats. In the new territory, the hamster is disoriented. We need to give it at least a minimal shelter so that it stays a little longer at the release site.

We make a hole about half a meter to a meter deep, put the hamster in it, put food in it, and cover the hole with something heavy. Recently, we have been using paving slabs that can be bought at a hardware store. We put a small supply of food inside, such as apples, carrots, and some grain.

Within a day, the wild hamster digs its way out and begins to explore the territory. In this way, we give the animal a chance to gain a foothold in a new area, as it will immediately have a shelter. Otherwise, it will simply run away, and all the work we have done will be in vain.

The Rehabilitation and Reintroduction Center for Rare Species in Kyiv Zoo is also trying to increase the population of the European hamster. Here, we breed hamsters according to a special program and then release them into the wild. The program has been in place since 2019.

Rehabilitation and Reintroduction Center for Rare Species 

How many wild hamsters live there now?

About 30. At first there were a few captured ones. Now there are only one or two hamsters from the wild there; all the rest were born in captivity.

Do you distinguish them somehow?

They are completely different. There are phlegmatic, calm ones, and very aggressive, even hysterical ones. The males try to spend as little energy as possible, you know, there are some lazy, fat males. Females are smaller and more anxious. Although there are also calm females and very aggressive males. One male bit me many times when I was examining him or weighing him.

Weren’t you wearing gloves?

They bite through any gloves! Their teeth are so sharp that they can even pierce special Kevlar animal handling gloves.

Aren’t you afraid to take them?

I am. Those incisors penetrate very deeply. There is a technique for taking wild hamsters as safely as possible. And even then, it happens that you can’t avoid being bitten. This is a problem when you work with animals: There is always a danger that you will be bitten or scratched. That’s why we don’t allow anyone to handle wild animals, except for those people who have been trained and instructed on that.

Where do hamsters from the Rehabilitation and Reintroduction Center for Rare Species end up?

We release them in the Tarutyns’kyj steppe in the Odesa region in cooperation with the organization Rewilding Ukraine. We have built enclosures for adaptation there.

Last year, we released a little over 20 animals into the wild. This year we will continue. We plan to release 50 hamsters into the steppe.

This year’s jury of the Ukrainian Animal Protection Award included several international experts, including Mark Randell, a former British detective and current animal crime investigator.

Mark served in the Sussex Police for more than 30 years, beginning as a patrol officer and later becoming a specialist in intelligence and covert operations. To collect evidence, Mark had to work closely with dangerous criminals and even to pretend to be one himself. Undercover, he investigated serious organized crimes such as murder, human trafficking, and illegal guns and drug trades. However, throughout his career, one category of crime remained largely unaddressed: crimes against animals. Upon retirement, Mark Randall began to investigate these crimes.

Mark founded Hidden-in-Sight, an organization that combats animal cruelty. Together with active police officers, media, and animal advocates, Mark continues his undercover operations. Does it make sense to dedicate time and resources to fighting crimes against animals when police officers have enough human problems? We talk about this and much more with Mark Randall.

“I can’t walk past an animal without talking to it” 

— Here’s a picture of Mark Rendall at the age of five. Who was that little friend of yours?

— This photo was probably taken by one of my two sisters. A little dog was a dachshund called Joe. I had him when I was five. He was one of my best friends, and we would get up to all sorts of mischief and bad behavior together. If anybody has a dachshund, you know that they are not always well-behaved. We were partners in crime. I once thought he would look better with stripes. So, he let me paint stripes on him with flour. We dug holes in my mom’s garden. We did everything together.

— Do you have any animals now?

— We have children, and I tend to look after their animals now. There are two rescued dogs here: Bonnie is from Bosnia, and Tatiana is from Romania. Bonnie is a dog that works things out, she is very intelligent. Tatiana is a bit crazy. Bonnie would be asleep on the bed because she is a princess, and the other one will be in the garden. They are so different. My daughter rescued them. 

— Do you feel a special connection with animals? 

— Absolutely. I like being around animals. I feel comfortable. I have conversations with them. Hopefully it’s mutual that we get on with each other. 

If I walk down the road and there’s a cat, I have to talk to the cat. I can’t ignore it. If there’s a dog or a horse, I have to spend some time with it. I can’t walk past an animal without talking to it. 

— What led you to work in animal crime investigations?

— When I ended policing, I wanted to work in this field because I loved animals, and I wanted to help them. 

Being a police officer should be about keeping vulnerable people safe and about protecting communities. When I started looking at those who were cruel to animals, I understood they were the same people who were involved in public crime that I’ve investigated as a police officer. They were sharing the same pathway, the same motivation. I didn’t understand why we [the police] treated crime against animals differently from crime against humans because there were the same criminals. 

It wasn’t that big a transition: I moved from being a police officer to explaining to other officers why animals are part of the community. So, when you are looking after a community, or a family, or a relationship, you need to look after everybody, and that includes animals. 

— In one of your previous interviews, you said that, as a police officer, you missed a lot by neglecting crimes against animals. What did you mean by that? 

— In 2007, I was investigating gunrunning and drug trafficking from the north to the south of England. The criminals who were bringing guns and cocaine were also involved in dogfighting. It was not part of that criminal business, probably they did it as a hobby. It’s much easier to do undercover work for dog fighting than to catch criminals with drugs. But we didn’t even look at the animal case. So, we never prosecuted them. We missed that opportunity.

How are animal and human abuse connected?

— I know you believe that those who hurt animals would be able to hurt people too. Could you explain why? 

— Criminals are generally lazy people, and they will find the easiest way to commit a crime. They don’t want to take too many risks. Abusers, who abuse people, will generally target the weakest within the group. They would possibly target a woman or a child in a household, but they would also target an animal. 

By harming an animal, they show people power and control. It can be a threat — they show people in the house what they can do to them. 

For example, an abuser could kill an animal, and that shows how violent he/she could be if people don’t do what they are told. It happens if somebody wants to sexually abuse a child, or a woman in a household.

Also, an animal could be a leverage. By abusing an animal, they say, “If you don’t let me do this, I will hurt your animal.” Abusers understand the relationship that we have with our pets, and they know how to have a major psychological impact on the caregiver. It could happen with a child, sometimes with an old person. You know, elderly people might only have their pets as company. 

Or it may happen as a part of traditional domestic abuse between husband and wife. It occurs on a regular basis in every country, as much as in Ukraine, in the UK as well. 

There’s a transition from those who hurt animals to those who hurt people. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they hurt animals first, and then they hurt people. They could hurt people and then animals. Or they could do it at the same time. If you understand how criminals and abusers work, you can prevent them from committing a crime in the first place. 

When you investigate a homicide, you can look at those who hurt animals in the past. Or if you have an animal crime reported to you, you need to take it seriously. If you know someone was hurting animals, particularly when he/she was young, that should indicate to you that there is an increased risk they are going to hurt people. You need to look at what danger that person poses to your community, and you can actually stop them from committing a crime in the future by recognizing that. 

It’s far better to prevent the murder rather than investigate it. It costs more money, more time, and more resources to investigate a homicide than to prevent it. 

— Last year, a court handled a case where a teenager cruelly killed a bird in front of his friends. The ruling required his mother to supervise him. In your view, was that a sufficient response? When we identify someone displaying animal abuse behavior, what steps can we take?

— Sending somebody to prison is only one aspect of criminal justice. 

An important part for me is that specialists could monitor a person identified as a danger to society. 

It may well be that there was a lack of education, etc. But if a person hurts many animals or does it in such a way that suggests that they can pose a danger to people around them, he/she could be monitored. There should be a system in place, people with the right expertise, and psychologists who can watch them in society. That can predict crimes happening. It’s all about understanding criminal psychology and understanding what happens next. 

Working undercover 

— Tell us about your undercover work. How does everything go? 

— There are different ways you can do that. With an organized crime group that I was involved in, you create a story around who you are, what your name is, and what your background is. 

You need to identify what that crime group needs. They want to sell you criminal products (guns or drugs, for example), so I would be a person they want to engage with. I would communicate with them to identify with drugs, guns, or dogs in dog fighting. They would tell me information, so I could go to prosecution or even to the media. I could do it myself, or I could work with a criminal who is motivated to talk about their criminal group. 

Some criminals like to tell everybody what they are doing, because that’s their motivation — to show who they are. And dog fighting is a good example. People like to talk about their abilities as dog fighters. So it’s not that difficult to infiltrate dogfighting. 

— You investigated dog fighting with the BBC in 2019, which became a big story. How did you get to the dogfighters? 

— On that occasion, I created a new identity. It’s not just about wearing glasses. It’s about being someone completely different whom they would want to talk to. I was an American from one of the seven states of America, where there’s a lot of dog fighting. I created lots of online identities. Then I would pretend that I want to buy a dog. I already have some good knowledge, and I want to buy their dogs. Then I need to talk about how important they are, talk about their work, and play to their ego. They are generally happy to tell you all about this, because they want to brag, and you use that. 

— Did you have to watch a real dog fight?

— No. When you work undercover, you have to try putting a delay in things because you can’t commit criminal acts yourself. You have to go quite close to a crime without committing one. When you are just about to commit a criminal act, you need to find a way for it not to happen. It’s difficult, but you should build a delay: Something happened in your family, or you have suddenly got caught, or you’ve been arrested. You have to say, “Sorry, I would have done it, but that and that has happened…”

But I’ve got them to send me live because, within the UK law, if I watch videos of dog fighting, that is not a criminal offence. On that occasion, I was allowed to watch it online. I got the information and the evidence I needed.

— Did you have to learn a lot about dog fighting? 

— The investigation took me 2.5 years. I spent a lot of time reading about stuff. Also, from a criminal perspective, not from an investigative perspective. Police officers don’t always see things the same way as criminals. They need to understand how criminals talk. All criminals have shared behaviors, and you have to know about them. 

— How did your family respond to your dangerous job?

— When you are working undercover, don’t let anybody know about your private life. If someone says, “What did you do over the weekend?” You might say, “Oh, I went shopping with my boyfriend, husband, my wife, and my children. You know, we went to the cinema…” You try to have a conversation without giving away any private information. 

I value that my family accepted what I’ve done. My youngest son is a police officer now. 

— Were you ever afraid?

— I did a lot of work on drug operations. I can think of one example, when I worked undercover. I was wearing a pair of jeans, and I had long hair at the time. There was a car, and I knew the passenger got a lot of drugs with him. As I walked past the car, I needed to seize the drugs. So I literally jumped into the car and grabbed the drugs. Because I’ve done it really quickly, there was no time to be afraid. Then I ran with the drugs, and we worked on the case.

When I was in a situation that was particularly difficult, I probably would be calm because that gives you time to think. I think it’s important to slow down and think things through.

I’ve been doing undercover work in quite dangerous prisons. I had to pretend to be a prisoner. It was a bit frightening. 

There was no animal investigation I’ve been scared of. I think if you treat animals with respect and you understand what they do, you shouldn’t get into a dangerous situation. People are slightly less predictable. 

— Did you carry a gun during investigations?

— No, I didn’t, as a police officer either. In the UK, police officers don’t carry guns. 

— Except for the dog fighting case, what other situations have you investigated for the media?

— My colleagues and I made a film about pheasant hunting. Although these birds do not naturally live in Britain, hunting them here is considered something of a traditional sport. Pheasants are specially bred on farms in other European countries. Their lives, at least at the time the film was made, began in horrific conditions. Then they were transported by ferry across the English Channel and released into British hunting estates, where they were easily shot by hunters, not for food but for entertainment. Around 35 million pheasants were killed in a single hunting season.

I worked for the League Against Cruel Sports. Together with my colleagues, we wanted to show people what was really happening, and that’s why in 2015 we made a documentary about the lives of these pheasants. It became part of an ongoing campaign against bird hunting.
That same year, due to public opinion, the ferry companies that transported the pheasants stopped doing so. Most likely, they agreed because going against public opinion would have been financially unwise.

In Hidden-in-Sight, we investigated how monkeys are kept as pets. We did this in collaboration with animal protection organizations Born Free Foundation and Four Paws. Animal welfare groups used our photos and information in their reports, and these images made it into the media and were even shown in the British Parliament.
As a result, last March, the country banned keeping monkeys as pets. However, all the planned measures (such as licensing owners) will only come into force in 2026.

Often, rather than going to court to get a good picture or good story, the media is just as powerful. 

“To keep your society safe, look at animal crime”

— Do you have any data on how many cases there are annually in the UK regarding animal crime? 

— This is very difficult to answer because the reports of cruelty are very different from prosecutions, and data is not very reliable. In 2021, there were 400 prosecutions. In the first 6 months of 2024, there were 44,800 reports, but they may not all be crimes. 

— Was anyone put in prison?

— Yes, the first 5-year sentence was given to dog fighters last year. There have been quite a few criminals who will go to jail for animal cruelty. 

— How would you describe the global state of animal crime prosecution from your perspective?

— Most countries have similar situations. We have charities that fight crimes against animals in the UK, but getting the police officers interested is difficult. I don’t think any country is doing it really well. 

Different prosecutors, politicians, and police are starting to understand that taking animal crime seriously is really important. Since 2016, the FBI has recognized animal abuse as one of the offences which has to be reported to the national database. Some countries are starting to recognize it. France is training police officers. I am training in Greece. I was training in Kosovo for Christmas. 

Gradually, there are more and more police officers who understand that animal cruelty is rarely an offence which happens in isolation. It’s quite often a part of all types of crime. Criminals cross over all these boundaries. I think police officers understand more: They have to deal with all crimes properly. If you are a police officer who wants to keep your society safe, you absolutely need to look at animal crime. 

The grumpy hen Baba Zina, the dogs Romka and Hraf, Mike and Gina, the pig Dusia, and the goat Marta live in shelters or with families across Ukraine. Most likely, these, and thousands of others, animals would not have survived if they hadn’t been taken in, evacuated, or treated in time by the people honored by UAnimals at the Animal Protection Award. 

These people experience every layer of society’s attitude toward animals on a daily basis. They know how often indifference is intertwined with compassion in the story of an animal.

We asked them about the moments that left the strongest impressions on them, and here’s what they’ve told us.

“No one expected he would survive” 

Anastasiia Klimniuk, the founder and the head of Animal House Rescue NGO

Kharkiv/Poltava region

This memory is from February 26, 2022. Animal food was hard to come by in Kharkiv. You couldn’t buy natural food, and all pet stores were closed. A warehouse with pet supplies opened in a garage. We were in a queue for dog food with 60 other people. It was a moment I’ll never forget. A man approached us with a cat in a carrier. His house had been destroyed, his wife had evacuated. He decided to go defend the country and had nowhere to leave the cat. He asked the people if anyone could take the cat in. No one responded. My husband and I exchanged glances and almost instantly decided to take the cat. That’s how we started taking in animals.

Later, we found out that the cat belonged to that man’s son. He and his wife had just had a baby, who was just two weeks old when the war began. So they decided to leave the cat with the grandparents for a month. When the man came to that line, the young parents were under russian occupation. Later, I received a message from them asking, “Do you still have our cat by any chance?” They sent me a photo of him as a kitten. So when we took him in, he was still very young. In 2022, the cat returned to his family.

There are examples of very caring attitudes toward animals in our area. Once, people saw a German shepherd lying near their yard. At first, they thought the dog was dead since he didn’t even move his ears. Eventually, they realized the dog was breathing. The people contacted us, and we took the animal to a veterinary clinic. There was very little hope of him surviving. The dog had no sensitivity in his body at all. An MRI showed a dislocation in his cervical spine.

When we picked the dog up at the clinic, he was already eating and going to the toilet on his own. The people who found him agreed to take in the dog with a disability and care for him. They named him Hraf. Now he can crawl, lie in a sphinx pose, and sit up for about 40 seconds, and he doesn’t need anyone’s help to eat. They built a wheelchair-like device so he is able to move around.

She fled on foot with a child and a puppy from shelling 

Olena Rusina, the head of Pegasus shelter

Malozakharyne, Dnipropetrovsk region

Recently, we were asked to go to a village because there was a large injured dog there. He had just appeared on the streets, even wearing a collar, but no one knew where he came from.

Local elderly women noticed him. These weren’t young people, skilled at using the Internet, yet they still tried to post his photo on social media to look for his family. The women even chipped in to buy parasite treatments for the dog.

We got a call after he got into a fight with another dog. We arrived and were met by these women, all with canes. These were civilized people who didn’t abandon the animal. They didn’t say, as often happens, “The dog’s lying around somewhere, go find him yourselves.” They followed our car, led us to the exact spot where the dog was. They cared for us, the volunteers. That was very heartwarming. The dog is still being treated and now lives at Pegasus shleter.

There was also a case when the offensive on Vovchansk began. Some people even fled on foot. A woman contacted us, asking if we could help provide shelter for a puppy. We didn’t want to, as our shelter was overcrowded. But it turned out this young woman was fleeing shelling on foot. She only took her child in a stroller. Just imagine the state she was in at that time! On the road, she saw a small, exhausted puppy. He was in the same circumstances as she was. The woman picked up the puppy and placed him at the bottom of the stroller! 

She made it to Dnipro, but didn’t abandon the puppy in the city. Then she contacted us, saying, “What do I do with a puppy and a child?” I posted the story on social media, and a family immediately responded and adopted the dog.

“Forgive me, Mike”

Serhii Ludenskyi, the founder and the head of Save Animals Ukraine NGO

Dnipro

Not long ago, I was asked to evacuate two Rottweilers from the frontline village of Oleksandropil in the Donetsk region. An elderly man was still living there, with a granddaughter waiting for him in Poland. The only issue was the dogs: two Rottweilers, 7-year-old Mike and 5-year-old Gina, lived in his yard. Traveling with such large dogs would have been difficult for the elderly man. It was because of them that he hadn’t left.

On the day of the evacuation, the elderly man arrived at his yard by bicycle. He had come from a small neighboring village, which was hit less often by artillery. A field behind his house was burning after a strike. All of this was happening under the thunderous sound of artillery.

The most heartbreaking moment was the man’s goodbye to his dogs. He hugged Mike’s head and said, “Forgive me, Mike. I have no choice.”

That video on my TikTok got a million views. I think many Ukrainians could relate to that pain.

We knew that Mike was aggressive. I had to climb onto the roof of the van and pull him up by the leash to get him inside.

The elderly man asked us to leave quickly, to avoid prolonging the goodbyes. So we did.

We brought the dogs to our shelter near Dnipro. It turned out that Mike was only aggressive toward other dogs. Both Rottweilers were soon taken in by lovely families. I’m very happy there are people who don’t abandon animals and others who are willing to take them in.

Two skeletons on chains

Tetiana Nelha, the founder of Zoofamily charity fund and shelter 

Pavlysh, Kirovohrad region

I always see both sides of the coin in how people treat animals, and it shocks me. I look at the soldiers, the rescuers who evacuate animals from combat zones while risking their own lives. They’re amazing. On the other hand, there are people in our area who don’t sterilize their pets, who cruelly dispose of puppies and kittens in trash bags at garbage dumps or in treelines. Some head into shelling to save animals; others kill them.

In our area there were people who would frequently leave their homes, abandoning their animals in chains and not feeding them. By law, we don’t have the right to enter someone else’s yard and take the animals. We had to push to get the police to go in with us and remove the dogs from their chains. These were already two skeletons. There’s currently an investigation against those people, so I can’t say more. I took the animals for treatment and rehabilitation at Zoofamily.

When a vet becomes an animal volunteer

Aliona Hrinnyk, the founder of Give a Paw YU NGO

Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv region

One day the phone rang, “Hello, I’m a veterinarian. I googled ‘volunteers Pivdennoukrainsk,’ and your number came up right away. I want to be useful, by giving advice at the very least.” It was Oleksandr Sokolov, who had relocated from Enerhodar. We met, and I immediately invited him to join our sterlization projects.

Before that, I had rented a house in the neighboring village of Kostiantynivka for animals to be housed temporarily. Well, calling it a house is generous; it was falling apart. There were walls, piles of trash, and grass up to our waists. My husband, my father, and I started fixing it up. People helped. Someone brought a bucket, someone brought a broom. A few volunteers came to clear weeds. We made sure the house was in order and set up a temporary place for animals to stay in. 

When Oleksandr arrived, with other volunteers, we chipped in to buy thread, anesthesia, and to set up an operating room. We began sterilizing stray cats and dogs there.

Time passed. I changed jobs, and our financial situation improved. We invested money, and in September 2024, we opened a clinic in the city.

There, we treat pets for a fee — to help strays, you need resources. Soldiers and internally displaced persons get discounts; some even get treatment free of charge. If an elderly woman comes with a pet, we treat it at a discount or free of charge. Plus, we do free spaying only of female cats so far. Our city has a shelter. By agreement, we operate on their dogs. Sometimes animals are brought in for treatment and we don’t charge for that. For strays under care of volunteers, we only charge the cost of materials.

We run campaigns for the free sterilization of strays. Our city is small, and there are more animals here than people. So we focus on sterilization. 

That village house now serves as a post-op recovery space and houses animals with disabilities. And Oleksandr Sokolov still works with me at the clinic.

“It wasn’t the shelling that killed them, it was hunger”

Alina Ostapenko, a member of Sumy Animal Home 

Sumy

I hardly remember life before the war. February 24, 2022, was a turning point in my mind. That’s when my real test as an animal rights defender began. It seemed that after the liberation of the Sumy region, life should have gotten easier, but then came the shelling of border areas and mandatory evacuations.

A year ago, in Yunakivka, a border village in the Sumy region, a local woman found eight dead dogs in different yards. It wasn’t the shelling that killed them, it was hunger. Most of the animals remained chained up until they died, unable to find even a scrap of food. All of them had been left there by people.

We had to go there to save the chained-up animals. On our first trip to the border area, we evacuated two dogs, Bruno and Alex, from Yunakivka.

Bruno’s survival was nothing but a miracle. We found him tied up in a yard where two other dogs already lay lifeless. Alex survived by eating raw corn.

After Alex and Bruno, we evacuated around 15 more dogs from Yunakivka.

Bruno is now at the shelter, and we’re still looking for a home for him. Alex found a loving family last year.

After meeting these dogs, we began actively evacuating animals from the border areas. Few people wanted to go to the villages of the Sumy region, so I decided to learn how to drive. That’s how a new chapter of spending weeks in remote shelled corners of the region began. Sadly, we couldn’t save them all.

In three years, we’ve found homes for about a thousand animals. No more abandoned animals is the result I strive for.

Neighbors so unalike

Olha Volkova, the head of Soul of a Tramp shelter 

Lupareve, Mykolaiv region 

This happened in the village of Lymany, before my trip to the Animal Protection Award. There, one woman poisoned about 20 dogs.

An acquaintance came to me and said, “Imagine, Olia, while you’re saving animals, this woman asked me, ‘Are you going to the city? Then buy me some rat poison, I didn’t have enough. I’ll poison the dogs.’” When I heard that, I went to the village. But the dogs were already dead, I couldn’t do anything. I saw the woman who poisoned them. I asked if she didn’t feel sorry for the dogs. She replied, “No. I poisoned them, and I’ll keep poisoning them.”

Olha has passed her testimony to the legal department of UAnimals and hopes to bring that woman to justice.

Roman Oleksandrovych, Baba Zina, Dusia, and the others

Viktoriia Zhydkova, the founder of Virnist animal protection society and of Human Rights Initiative NGO

Dobropillia, Donetsk region

In August 2019, my husband went to take out the trash. There was a bag with puppies in the dumpster. Only one was still alive, it was just two hours old. That’s when our fight for its life began. My husband made a special box for the puppy, basically, an artificial mom. We fed it by the clock, woke up at night. One time, my husband suddenly yelled, “Come here!” I thought something bad had happened. I came over and the puppy had opened the eyes. I’ve never seen my husband so happy. And now that dog is our famous Roman Oleksandrovych. Little Roma.

Another real act of humanity was when a whole chain of kindness worked together to rescue a farm in Udachne. I’m a vegetarian, and it was essential to me to save the farm, not to slaughter the animals. I wanted to create a shelter that would take in farm animals, and I shared the idea on social media.

That’s when a man from Udachne called me. He had a small farm. I must’ve asked him ten times, “Are you going to eat the animals?” He said no, and that their goose was 15 years old, the goats were 17…

Many people were involved in the farm’s evacuation. And now the animals from Udachne live at my shelter. We have Dusia the pig, who gives you her paw. There’s Marta the goat, she always greets you, bleats in her own way, and stretches out her front leg. There’s a chicken we call Baba Zina because she’s always grumpy. The moment you walk into the coop, she clucks as if to say, “You’re walking wrong, standing wrong, doing everything wrong.” Her beak won’t ever close. 

Kolia and the puppies 

Inna Borodulia — founder and the head of Happy Cat CSO

Zaporizhzhia

I work closely with a soldier named Slavik. He has evacuated a large number of animals and finds people to take them out of the combat zone. He pays for sterilization and treatment out of his own pocket. I’m actually about to head out to vaccinate puppies where he’s stationed. I’d love to take them all to the shelter, but that’s just not possible. To me, he’s a human with a capital H.

But I have another hero. Kolia, a tall, easy-going guy who works at a factory. Honestly, at first, I thought he wasn’t the brightest. But things aren’t always what they seem at first glance. The summer before last, Kolia found newborn puppies in a dumpster. Not afraid of the challenge, he took them in and raised them. All by himself! And this while working shifts at a demanding job! Every one of those puppies survived. He found homes for them all and kept one for himself. Ever since, I tell him, “Kolia, you’re my hero.”

***

After receiving their awards, the winners of the Animal Protection Award are quick to step out of the spotlight and return to their animals. At home, they change back into work clothes and roll up their sleeves. For three years of full-scale war, these people have been taking in dogs and cats, farm and wild animals, those evacuated from the front line or nearby areas, and sometimes they evacuate them on their own. That’s hundreds, sometimes thousands, of new animals each year. Animals keep arriving because the war continues. However, we can at least make sure these animal defenders don’t have even more work because of abandoned and mistreated pets left behind in safer regions of Ukraine.

Bison, deer, foxes, and hares bathe, hunt, and play in his photos, living their wild lives. However, it wasn’t these animals that brought Viacheslav Mishchenko global recognition, but snails. A photograph of a snail earned him awards in two categories at the prestigious International Photography Awards in 2014, and a book featuring his snail photography was published in Japan. Japanese publishers hailed him as a brilliant Ukrainian photographer.

Viacheslav Mishchenko lives in Berdychiv, Ukraine. By day, he is a dental technician at a military hospital. Often, on the same day, he is also a wildlife photographer.

Coming home from the hospital, slightly breathless and busy, Viacheslav eagerly tells us about his passion — photography.

Immersion in the Microcosm: How Mushroom Picking Can Change a Life

— Where was your latest photoshoot?

— Yesterday, I went to the forest with my grandchildren. We found some mushrooms — honey fungus and oyster mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms are unusual, and I wanted to photograph them… and I found some! I love foraging. My father got me “hooked” on it. He was an avid mushroom picker who made me a small basket and took me along to gather mushrooms.

That’s what got me into macro photography. While mushroom-picking with my father, I’d see bugs, spiders, and snails moving about… It was so interesting for me as a child! This love for the micro-world has stayed with me ever since.

My overall love for nature also came from my father. He was a mathematician by training, but in Berdychiv, he took courses and began teaching drawing, crafts, and drafting at school. He also worked as a freelance school photographer, so I witnessed the magic of photography as a child. He bought me my first small camera, a Smena, when I was ten years old — that’s when my long journey in photography began.

Then came the era of digital photography, but I didn’t have a camera. Instead, I painted. It was a joy for me! I became the head of the Vernisazh Union of Independent Artists and Folk Craftsmen and led it for 11 years (2002–2013).

One day, a friend sent me a camera — a Fujifilm — simply as a gift. That’s when it all clicked! I began taking a lot of photos, especially macro shots. I’d go to the forest and spend hours photographing.

On Land

— How do you find wild animals to photograph?

— Whether I’m photographing a deer or a snail, I first study the area where the animal is likely to be.

Most of the time, I set up A blind is a shelter used by hunters or nature photographers. blinds made of branches or camouflage netting. Sometimes, I pitch a tent and cover it with something. Occasionally, I shoot from my car or hide in a cornfield.

For example, let me tell you how I tracked black storks. I photographed them in Bystryk, a village near Berdychiv. It’s very convenient for me to go there because I live on the edge of the city. I brew some coffee, get in the car, and by the time I reach the location, I’ve finished my coffee. There are many lakes here, each home to its own birds. Over the past 15 years, I’ve come to know their nests and feeding spots.

Black storks are very rare. They build their nests far from people. Before migrating, they feed at lakes in Bystryk to gain some strength. In the summer, I saw them in the fields. I knew they’d stay for 10–12 days before leaving, but I couldn’t find the lake where they were feeding.

Storks like to visit lakes at dawn and sunset, and then, they can spend the rest of the day in the fields. I drove around the lakes for several days until I finally found them.

One evening, I prepared a spot where I could lie down. I brought a mat and camouflage netting. It’s the kind our soldiers use to cover tanks. I added a few branches on top so I could see the birds, but they couldn’t see me. Even the slightest movement makes them flee. If they spot you, one screeches, and they’re gone.

The next morning, I left at 5 a.m., parked my car far away so they wouldn’t hear it, and made my way to the blind. Ideally, you arrive before dawn, while it’s still dark. I waited in the forest, wondering—will they come, or won’t they?

— Have you encountered any other rare animals besides storks?

— There’s the largest butterfly in Europe — the great peacock moth (Saturnia pyri). Its wingspan is 15 centimeters. I’ve photographed it. There have also been bison. I made a special trip to Brody in the Lviv region to photograph them. Next year, I’m planning to head to the Belarusian border to photograph capercaillie, which are also rare.

— How did you photograph the fox cubs?

— It was early May. I saw the vixen once, then a second time… Sometimes she’d be carrying fish, other times she had a mouthful of mice. If she’s carrying food, it means she has cubs. So I started looking for the den. You need sandy soil and a kind of slope. And I found it! She had made her den so well that you wouldn’t notice it unless you were looking carefully. But it was very close to the village… Nearby, there was a cornfield, which is a perfect hiding spot for a fox. Corn is good for hunting birds that land there. 

I arrived when she wasn’t around and spotted the cubs first. They were curious about me and started coming out of the den. If the vixen hadn’t returned, they would have approached me and cuddled up to me.

But she caught my scent, yelped, and the cubs hid in the den! They didn’t come out again until she returned and yelped once more. I spent three hours sitting there with my camera, but it was all in vain.

However, I outsmarted her. She went out hunting, and I started bringing chicken wings to the den. The cubs would come out just a little, and I photographed them.

On the Water and in the Water

— Do you often have to go into the water to take photos?

— Yes, because many birds live on the water. There’s the great crested grebe — a very photogenic bird. Their courtship rituals are fascinating. Then there are bee-eaters and kingfishers, which are so colorful! Just this November, I saw a kingfisher at a pond, even though it was cold, and they usually aren’t around by then. There are also swans here — two pairs with their young. They fight for dominance on the lake: the stronger one chases off the weaker. There’s also the night heron, or kwak, named after its call: “Kwak! Kwak!” I’ve photographed water voles, muskrats, ducks, coots, and herons — both red, white, and gray.

— I heard you have a heron friend?

— Yes, I’ve been photographing her for many years. She lets me get very close. I’ve named her Marfa.

Marfa always arrives at the same spot first, as if to say, “This is mine, and I’m not letting anyone else in!” If I get too close, Marfa scolds me too. One eye keeps an eye on the fish, the other watches me. She sets a certain boundary, and if you cross it, she flies off, returns, and just yells at you. Then you take two or three steps back and sit in a blind, chest-deep in water.

— Isn’t it cold and wet?

— That’s what waders are for! I put on my waders, get in up to my chest, and move through the water. Above me, I have a little shelter shaped like an upside-down “U.” I made myself out of foam, plywood, and aluminum poles from an old cot. On top, there’s a canvas cover. Birds are afraid of humans, but if something non-threatening moves through the water, they’re wary at first, but they get used to it.

It’s morning, it’s foggy, and you’re in your waders, chest-deep in water, waiting for about an hour for them to arrive. The camera is mounted on a tripod. You are holding it like a machine gun.

Once, I fell in. I was photographing frogs in Polovetske, a village in the Zhytomyr region. It was their mating season, and I wanted to get as close to the water as possible to make the shots more impressive. Well, I fell into the water! Thankfully, my equipment wasn’t damaged, but I got soaked. I even got a funny photo out of it, which I titled A Male Dilemma: the frogs are mating, and the male is watching a mosquito with one eye. You can almost see him thinking, “Should I keep mating or grab a snack?”

Armed with Knowledge and Lenses

— What do you need to carry when you go on a trip?

— A bunch of lenses, tripods. You can’t do without them; they’re your tools.

— Have you ever weighed all of that?

— I don’t want to scare myself! I have three standard lenses: one with a long focal length, a macro lens, and a landscape lens. I don’t use ghillie suits much. I bring a mat, sometimes a cushion for the camera. When I prepare a blind, I want it to be comfortable because you might need to sit there for 3–4 hours. Birds can fly off and come back, and you have to wait. When I was photographing black storks, a car passed by — they flew away but returned later. Sometimes they get scared of me too. They got close to me. A stork came within six meters of me. It was too close to fit in my lens. The moment I moved, all the storks took off.

— Are there any animals that seem to want to be photographed?

— There aren’t. If you’re photographing a snail, it doesn’t care where it’s crawling. Though snails also have character. In good weather, they sleep, in damp weather, they crawl — early in the morning or late in the evening when the dew is heavy. But even then, it’s not always guaranteed you’ll catch them out.

— How do you entice a snail to pose?

— That’s a secret. I share those nuances during workshops. These are discoveries I’ve made through work, dreams, and curiosity.

— Have you learned anything about animals that you didn’t know before?

— Everything was new to me. I’ve photographed bugs whose names I didn’t even know at first.

I’m not a biologist! I didn’t know all the birds either. But when you photograph something for the first time, you get curious about what it is.

Whether it’s a ladybug or a praying mantis, it’s good to read up on them. It helps with photography. The same goes for mammals — deer, foxes.

— Do you have favorite locations?

— Over 15 years, I’ve explored various places. I know where to go for dragonflies, snails, grebes, or where a heron is waiting for me. It makes photographing easier.

Last fall, I went to Dzembronya. I wanted to photograph a bird that lives only by mountain rivers (the white-throated dipper, Cinclus cinclus). I took plenty of shots, but not the ones I wanted. You walk along the mountain river searching… but it’s fruitless. That’s what happens when the area is unfamiliar.

— What makes a photo stand out?

— The first thing that draws attention to a photo is the story. When there’s some action happening. It’s not just a snail — it’s a snail reaching for a droplet of water, or with a spiderweb in the background, or with an insect or a frog. And if the shot also has beautiful light and a captivating color palette, then you get a masterpiece.

— Do you follow any principles when photographing wild animals?

— The main thing is not to harm or disturb the animals. Nature is so fragile, it needs to be protected.

I’m against any kind of hunting. These animals — they’re miracles created by nature.

By the way, hunting is banned during martial law. And there are more wild animals now! I’ve never seen so many as I do now. In Bystryk, I’ve seen roe deer, even though there’s no large forest there. But I think that once the war ends, they’ll all be killed.

— Have you encountered poachers?

— It happened in Brody. We saw a car in the forest. I took a picture of the license plate and gave it to the forester. They investigated it, but I don’t know the final result.

Life Full of Adventures

— What are the most interesting moments you’ve witnessed?

— So many! This year, I captured a fox trying to hunt a hare. That area was also frequented by marsh harriers, particularly young birds. The harriers hunt and then land in the fields to eat. But foxes can smell food from half a kilometer away, so this one liked to drive the harriers off and take their meal.

A marsh harrier, a fox, and a hare — all in one photo. It’s incredibly rare for everything to align like that: the weather, the presence of these birds and animals in the same spot, and me being there! In 15 years, it’s the first time I’ve gotten such lucky shots.

There are plenty of failures too. My dream is to photograph a capercaillie and a crane. I’ve already made two trips near the Belarusian border to capture the capercaillie but haven’t succeeded yet. In spring, during their mating season, I traveled over 200 kilometers, spent two days there, and came back empty-handed.

— Don’t you feel like saying, “Forget it!” and giving up?

— Haha, that’s what makes it fun. It’s wonderful to have a dream.

I have so many photos of the white heron Marfa — a million of them! Yet every time she comes, I dream of capturing a shot I haven’t taken before. The fog, the splash of her wings…

— Which animal was the hardest to photograph?

— Deer in June in Bilokorovychi (Korosten District, Zhytomyr region). That shoot was tough. The area is swampy, and there were so many horseflies and mosquitoes, and they were huge! I thought they’d eat me alive. I brought repellent, but you can’t use too much because deer can smell it from afar. And if the wind blows their way… So you just lie there in the swamp, not moving.

Last spring, I had a similar experience photographing buzzards. There were lots of mosquitoes, and it was very hot. Inside the tent, I was sweating buckets!!!

Then the bird comes closer — five or ten meters away. Mosquitoes are sitting on your fingers, on your nose. But you can’t move. You just endure for the sake of a successful shot! Afterwards, you’re so bitten up it’s hard to look at yourself in the mirror.

— Do your colleagues and patients at the hospital know you’re a photographer?

— Most people at the hospital know. Although, earlier, I was better known abroad than in Ukraine.

In 2014, my photo of a snail won the International Photography Awards in the “Wildlife” and “Discovery of the Year” categories. That same year, a book featuring my snail photos was published in Japan. Japanese author Hisui Kotaro wrote Haiku is a genre of Japanese poetry.haiku to accompany each of my images.

“This warm photo book reminds those of us who rush and bustle daily of the importance of pausing for a moment and feeling gratitude for every day,” reads the book’s description.

In 2015, I attended the International Nature Festival in Namur, Belgium. Filmmakers, amateur naturalists, foresters, and photographers from various countries gather there. That year, King Philippe of Belgium also attended the festival!

— Don’t people ask, “How can you be both a dental technician and an artist?”

— They say, “How do you find the time? Here you are photographing animals and insects, and here you’re off to work.” Almost every day, I leave at 5 a.m. to catch the sunrise. By 7 a.m., I’m back home, because at 7:45 I head to the hospital.

I really dig it! When the sun rises, everything awakens, birds sing… Once, a herd was passing by… Mornings are great. I’ve been living this way for many years.

— Do you still paint?

— Painting is in another life now. But I’ll return to it because I’ve taken so many beautiful landscape photos of the Zhytomyr region, Dzembronya. It’s the highest-altitude village! There’s an enchanting forest there. I visited it in the fog — it was magical! I’m setting aside photos that I want to turn into paintings. There are so many amazing places, and I want to immortalize them on canvas.

Natalka is sitting on the porch of a village clubhouse in Novoosynove, Kharkiv region. The roar of the frontline echoes in the background. Smoke rises on the horizon.

“What are you doing now?” I ask.

“Preparing a solution. There’s a dog feeling unwell over there. We’ll give it an IV.”

A massive dark dog is sleeping in a cage under a birch tree. An IV is set up and hung from the tree’s lower branch. Nearby, cages hold animals awaiting surgery in the UAnimals veterinary vehicle.

We speak with Natalka during a UAnimals veterinary mission in the Kharkiv region, near Kupiansk, where veterinarians have long been absent. Here, Natalka and her team sterilize animals and provide medical assistance.

— The locals in Novoosynove seem to recognize you. This isn’t your first visit, is it?

— We were here in the summer, and people have gotten somewhat used to us. Back then, this place was much livelier: stores were open, and there were more residents. But since then, the situation has worsened. Fewer people remain, and the atmosphere has grown more somber. The store that used to operate now serves as a temporary shelter for animals.

— When you chose this profession, did you imagine your life would look like this?

— No, not at all! No veterinarian envisions their life this way!

My mother is a doctor, and I also considered a medical career. However, I didn’t want to work with people and chose veterinary medicine instead. Turns out, veterinarians often work more with people than with animals. There was a time when I doubted my life choices. I left university in my third year. Later, I returned with a clear purpose and have been dedicated to this profession ever since.

Nowadays, everyone does what they can. Through the Accessible Sterilization project, we can sterilize stray animals and vaccinate them against rabies. That’s what we do. The project’s goal is to make sterilization and rabies vaccination accessible for stray animals and pets belonging to low-income families. We also want people who take care of street animals to have the opportunity to sterilize them.

A long time ago, around 15 years ago, I began visiting animal shelters. At the time, I was working at a clinic and was invited to help at the Hostomel shelter. The conditions there were, to put it mildly, poor. I saw animals giving birth within the shelter because they weren’t sterilized. Many puppies and kittens had illnesses and died. That’s when I had the idea to make animal sterilization more accessible.

— Why sterilize stray or street animals?

— Many animals are born uncontrollably.

Why do we encounter cruelty toward animals? I believe the main problem is that there are too many of them. People commit various acts that degrade human dignity — like drowning kittens or puppies. Additionally, kittens, puppies, and mature animals get sick when there is no one to take care of them. It is an endless cycle of suffering.

There are no laws regulating animal reproduction. Often, people refuse to sterilize their pets. Usually, it’s an immature attitude. They claim to feel sorry for the animal but then go on to kill kittens or puppies. This is the cruelty we strive to curb.

— What does your work look like?

— My colleagues — Yuliya Tkachenko and Lolita Polishchuk — and I have a stationary office in Kyiv where we perform surgeries on animals a few times a month.

However, most of our work is done on our trips. We operate in frontline towns as well as in the Kyiv region. We perform surgeries in Novi Petrivtsi, north of Kyiv, and Ivankiv, near Chornobyl. There, we rent spaces and sterilize cats and dogs brought in by low-income residents. We invite people via various social media groups. We also assist the Sirius shelter, which is struggling financially and lacks a veterinarian.

— Do you remember your first field mission?

— We started operating in villages before the full-scale war. However, I distinctly recall one trip already during the invasion. We traveled north of Kyiv to Kukhari, a village by the Teteriv River. Our army was holding back the advance on Kyiv there. Tanks passed through the village, and a major battle took place. The village was completely destroyed — only chimneys remained standing. It looked like a scene from a World War II film. It was deeply disturbing. We worked in a clubhouse that a caretaker was trying to rebuild, even though his own house had also been destroyed.

When we arrived, it seemed like no one lived there anymore. The reception was scheduled for 10 a.m., and suddenly, people began appearing from all directions.

Despite their destroyed homes and shattered lives, they came to sterilize their animals!

Our first mission to a frontline area was to Lyman after its liberation. It was winter, and we worked in an abandoned veterinary clinic. Seeing it was heartbreaking because it had been someone’s business. [During the occupation], Russian forces used the clinic — they vandalized everything inside.

The city was in ruins. We watched as our military vehicles and soldiers moved toward the front line… but we didn’t see them returning. The rumbling was constant. The sky glowed orange. It felt as if there were some big millstones where the frontline was, grinding people.

— How do people usually react to your work when you visit them?

— Soldiers care a lot about the fate of animals. They ask us to evacuate them, treat them, and bring them in for sterilization. All those who have already been affected by serious military events understand why sterilization is necessary and why animals should be vaccinated against rabies. After all, they are the ones who feed these animals and take care of them. 

For example, in the Zaporizhzhia region, particularly in Orikhiv, there have been recorded cases of rabies, and there are many foxes. We traveled there to vaccinate animals from rabies, and many people willingly came forward to get vaccines. There’s no resistance — on the contrary, people are grateful for the opportunity to vaccinate their animals.

— And who’s this joining us?

— These are Lyman and Richie — my dogs. They work here with us.

Richie is a dog from Kukhari, that heavily devastated village we visited after the Kyiv region was liberated.

We collaborate with a volunteer there who is very committed to preventing stray puppies and kittens from being born. However, due to the full-scale war, she couldn’t keep up, and Richie was born. We had to take the puppies for rehoming, but I decided to keep Richie.

And it’s clear where Lyman comes from! He’s from Lyman.

We were going on a trip to collect puppies that a soldier had asked us to evacuate, but we accidentally went to the wrong checkpoint. We explained, “We’re here for the yellow puppies.” They brought out Lyman. He’s black! A tiny puppy with no teeth. We said, “We have nowhere to take him…” and they replied, “Take him, or he’ll die here.” So we brought him with us and had to bottle-feed him. I thought about putting him up for adoption, but this little dog made me feel happy. Now he’s with me.

— Do you feel your work is making a difference?

— In Ivankiv, where we systematically sterilize stray animals, there are no unsterilized strays left. In fact, there are very few animals on the streets altogether. There were even a few seasons when people couldn’t find kittens to adopt. That’s an excellent indicator.

We’ve been to Lyman three or four times, and we’re quite pleased with the results. Most of the dogs there now have ear tags, which means they’ve been sterilized.

I also feel that our work is not in vain when people say “thank you.”

“All night, I packed every crevice of the car with supplies and dog food. I was afraid to close the door in case it made too much noise. Outside, there was the crackle [of gunfire] and machine-gun bursts.” This is how Maryna from Kherson, the owner of eight dogs, prepared to leave the occupied territory. She had no intention of abandoning any of her animals.

NGOs often retrieve pets left behind by their owners in frontline areas — sometimes still tied up. Yet, some people are capable of heroic feats to keep their animals fed during the occupation and ensure they’re brought along when escaping. Which cases are more common? We can’t quantify it, but we can share a few stories of people who evacuated with their pets.

Escaping Occupation with Eight Dogs

A house in northern Portugal near a eucalyptus forest. Not long ago, it was uninhabitable, but Maryna Skrypnychenko and her husband have already made significant repairs. Their first task was fencing the yard to prevent their dogs — Yolkin, Yozhyk, Yoryk, Martyska, Mukha, Motya, Mysha, and Chucha — from running off. All of these dogs were once strays roaming around the outskirts of Kherson. One by one, Maryna took them in. But when the occupation began, her home city turned into a living hell. For her own safety, she needed to leave. With eight dogs, though? Here is how she did it.

A House Outside the City

We had a large, beautiful home near Kherson on the banks of the Inhulets River. I organized yoga seminars and art plein-airs there. It was truly a bright, welcoming place. This winter, it served as a shelter for our soldiers.

Recently, we learned that our home no longer exists: it took a direct hit and burned down.

Living on the outskirts of the city, I often saw packs of stray puppies, and I would take in the weakest ones. I first adopted one dog, then another, and eventually, I ended up with eight. My husband built them kennels and enclosures, and they had everything they needed.

A Month in the Basement

When the war began, russian forces immediately entered Kherson. My husband, a sailor, was away on a voyage. I took my mother from Kherson, thinking it would be safer outside the city. But on the very first day, we had to move into the basement. We didn’t know it yet, but missiles and drones were already overhead… And so we spent a month in that basement with the dogs.

They reacted badly to everything. They were terrified of explosions and still hate loud noises to this day.

About a week into the occupation, I saw russian paratroopers — they seemed to emerge from the ground. In full gear — it looked like something out of a movie! One of them asked, “Why haven’t you left?” I was too scared to respond. Then he said, “Get back in the basement and stay there.”

Neighbors gave me some fish, which I boiled and fed to my dogs, both the house pets and the strays outside. Now, my dogs refuse to eat fish at all.

Sometimes, I would go to a neighbor for eggs. Once, I pretended to be going for eggs again but actually went to spray-paint something on a garage. I called a friend to talk with me on the phone — if they shot me, at least she’d hear it. My first canister ran out, so I pulled out another and finished writing: “russians, go f*** yourselves.”

The Departure

The invaders had taken vehicles from everyone in the area. My car survived only because the garage was part of the house, and they hadn’t realized it was there. But if I wanted to leave, I’d need to get the car out without drawing attention. I hesitated for fear they’d seize it, as they had others.

A friend found a farmer who was trying to protect his fields and had managed to negotiate a work permit with them. He called and told me, “Be ready.” All night, I packed every crevice of the car with supplies and dog food. I was afraid to close the door in case it made too much noise. Outside, there was the crackle [of gunfire] and machine-gun bursts. Who or what they were shooting at, I had no idea.

Around six in the morning, the farmer called again, “Pull out of the garage but don’t open the gate. Wait until you see an armored vehicle with the letter Z, then open it.”

The farmer somehow persuaded the invaders to send an armored vehicle to the dacha [summer house] neighborhood, supposedly to “pacify” the soldiers who were causing destruction everywhere. When the personnel carrier arrived on my street, he called again, “Go now.”

By then, I had collected all eight dogs. Half of them had never been inside a car before. I stuffed them in, layered blankets on the back seat, and my mother lay across them because there was no room to sit. The dogs, frightened, sat still and quiet.

It was “fun”… I drove through twelve invader checkpoints! At each one, the soldiers inspected the cars. As I approached a checkpoint, I rolled down the windows. Eight snouts would immediately stick out, and the invaders would just say, “Get the f**k out of here.”

I reached Kherson. By a supermarket, women with children would gather each day in cars to form a convoy — it was less frightening to travel together. I joined the convoy. As soon as we left Kherson, we got stuck; a battle was underway, so we couldn’t move. There were about 200–300 cars, full of children and dogs… Eventually, the entire convoy turned back.

But I thought, “To hell with it. If I die, so be it.” And I went on.

It took us twelve hours to reach Koblevo — a drive that would normally take two and a half hours.

The dogs sat quietly like mice in the car. Only in Koblevo did I let them out for the first time… But I was still scared; there were explosions even there. Well, it was insane. No romance to it at all!

To Portugal With Plywood for a Window

At the customs checkpoint on the Romanian border, I rolled down the window and got out. Two of the dogs immediately jumped out. We had already been waiting in line for 3–4 hours. People were bored, so my chasing after the dogs entertained everyone, and at least we got a bit of exercise.

In Romania, I was met by so many volunteers! When they saw the animals, they started taking pictures and giving me food for them… I told them I had no space left to carry it. “Take it anyway!” It moved me to tears, I still remember it.

The first night, I planned to sleep outdoors. I set out eight bowls for the dogs, but the police came over, asked me not to sleep outside, and escorted us to a hotel. There, in the restaurant, they moved all the furniture, laid out mattresses, and set up beds for refugees.

I thought, “If anyone makes a sound, all eight dogs will start barking…” So I decided to sleep in the car near the hotel. I started the engine to charge my phone, then someone came over, and I got distracted and stepped out. The car had a button on the armrest that locked the doors. The dogs pressed it, locking themselves inside a running car! Until four in the morning, I tried to coax them to press the button again, but nothing worked. Finally, the volunteers broke a window so I could climb in. I patched it with plywood and continued across Europe.

Since then, the dogs have refused to get into a car. I don’t force them.

I remember sitting in that basement when my husband called and said, “I can’t live in a world without you.” That gave me the strength to leave. If they kill me, then so be it, but hiding in the basement, trembling, and waiting for them to come for me was too much. So, I gathered everyone and started the car…

Our home is gone, but the animals are safe. I’m happy that all our dogs are still with us. 

Six People, Five Dogs, Four Cats, and a Turtle

A family from Selydove in the Donetsk region is a large family with quite a lot of pets. Sviatoslav Torkhov worked in the mines while his wife Yuliya raised their three children: Oleksandr, Artem, and Alla. Yuliya’s mother lived nearby. This summer, they were forced to make drastic changes to their lives.

After the Airstrike

Yuliya: On June 23, there were two strikes on our town. Around 4 a.m., a shell hit the garden. Our roof only had some tiles slide off, and parts of the ceiling collapsed. It was still fixable, so we started repairs. My husband was on the roof, and the children, my mother, and I — with the dogs — were in the yard. At 5 p.m., there was another strike, this time hitting just beyond our yard. The windows shattered, and the ceiling collapsed. My husband fell from the roof, sustaining head and rib injuries. We were standing below, shielded from the debris by the garage, but all of us suffered concussions. The news said it was an aerial bomb, though we don’t know exactly what kind.

Our dog Stitch hid with us behind the garage while his mother, an Alabai named Lavyna, was near the fence with her little puppy, Misha. From a distance after the blast, I saw Lavyna lying there. I was afraid to approach, thinking she might be dead. But then the rescue workers checked on my husband and asked, “Would you like to check on your dog?” I finally went over and realized she was still breathing.

I called her name, “Lavyna, Lavyna,” and began petting her. She had hidden her puppy beneath her. She was badly concussed but had no other injuries and gradually started to come around.

Then, we began considering where to relocate and started searching for a place to live. We traveled a lot, and it was heartbreaking to make the animals wait for us for so long each time we left.

Aside from Lavyna and her puppies, we also have Stella, a mixed breed, and Nora, a shepherd dog, plus four cats — Busya, the Scottish Fold, Alisa, and her kittens, Borysych and Bagheera. And there’s also Burger the turtle.

Finding a way to transport all of them was a real challenge.

Sviatoslav: Finally, we found a contact for UAnimals and arranged for help transporting the animals. Volunteers Mariya Holovina and Andriy Zhdanov came. We remember them fondly to this day.

They prepared crates and laid hay in the car. I placed the animals in the crates, and Mariya and Andriy helped get them into the car. The animals didn’t whimper or try to escape — it was as if they understood everything would be okay.

In Petropavlivka

Sviatoslav: Few places allow families with children to stay, let alone with pets! With our large family, it was tough to rent a place where we could live with both kids and dogs.

I’m a miner, so we needed to be close to a mine. We finally found such a place.

Yuliya: We moved to Petropavlivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. I arrived three days early to settle in and prepare to welcome the animals. I waited for them and settled them all in. Now they’re doing well.

The cats, who always lived in our trees, are still up in the trees. Lavyna adores our children but barks at strangers. If she runs outside, she won’t harm anyone, but people are still afraid of her — she’s huge. So she stays in an enclosure.

Stitch also wanted to run around freely and couldn’t be made to stay in one spot, so we had to add him to the enclosure. Still, the dogs found a way to sneak out to the yard.

Nora, the shepherd, is also a guard dog but is attached to us, having been with us since she was a puppy. Stella, an older dog, will give you her paw if you approach her — she loves attention.

How could we abandon them? We love them and didn’t bring them into our lives just to leave them behind. That thought never even crossed our minds.

Sviatoslav: Soon, we’ll bring my mother-in-law here; she’s still in Selydove. Then our family will be even larger. If you’re in a similar situation, don’t give up. Take your pets with you since pets are family members.

The Cat Who Celebrated Kherson’s Liberation

Yevheniya Akubekova lives in Kherson. Before the full-scale invasion, she worked as a cashier in a shopping mall. When the full-scale war began, the mall was destroyed, and she lost her job. Yevheniya had two cats, and just before February 24, 2022, she gained a third — the cat was left temporarily by her sister, who went to work in Poland. As it turned out, all three cats weren’t afraid of water: they traveled by boat and even went fishing. Yevheniya shared her experience of moving from place to place with her three cats.

The Start of the Occupation

We had two cats — Zoya and Varyushka — and in 2022, we also had my sister’s cat, Joey. He stayed with us through the war and occupation but is now back with my sister.

When Kherson was occupied, my husband and I didn’t leave the house for two weeks. Then, the cat food ran out, and our human food supplies were also running low. I was baking bread at home, but we were out of oil and sugar. So, we started going out to buy food. On April 9, we left for our dacha.

The left bank of the Dnipro is dotted with river channels and dachas on islands. We stayed there up until December 5. We planted a garden and caught fish. There was no electricity in the city, but we had it at the dacha.

The cats were terrified of the shelling. They still get scared and hide. It was horrifying when the orc [russian] planes flew overhead to bomb us. They flew so low, right above the power lines. The poor cats didn’t know where to run, and neither did we, crouching down in fear. I called for the cats, but they were panicked. When they heard a plane approaching from afar, they would dart inside the house.

Apart from that, the cats had a wonderful time there. My husband would fish and feed both our cats and the neighboring ones. The price of pet food skyrocketed. At first, locals raised prices on the remaining supplies, then the russians brought in more and sold it at triple the price.

Our biggest softie is Joey. He is affectionate and friendly. He followed me all over the island; everyone knew he was my cat. Liza was a stout little thing, bustling around chasing snakes and mice, getting leaner and more agile. Varya, the oldest, loved sitting in the attic — she had her own little sanctuary up there.

The cats even started bringing grass snakes into the house. They knew all the little holes and cracks where the snakes hid. I yelled at them to stop dragging those poor snakes inside!

The cats loved it there, and it was hard for them when we returned to the city. Joey didn’t eat for a week out of sadness.

Every weekend, I would take a boat to Kherson to buy essentials — oil, grains, or sugar — the things we couldn’t grow ourselves. My husband and I would pass through the Ostriv microdistrict. The orcs had a checkpoint there. They’d check our bags and phones. Once, we were boarded by an orc boat, they searched us and checked our passports and phones.

Liberation

I remember when Kherson was liberated. I went shopping by boat. We all knew each other, everyone else was also going. So we hired a taxi, we were on our way, and we saw a pickup truck with Odesa license plates and a guy in camouflage waving at us. I thought, “What a bastard, they’ve seized another of our cars, and he’s even waving.” I was so stressed I didn’t even notice his uniform was different! I arrived at the market, and it was buzzing: “They’re here, they’re here!” We’d been warned not to gather in groups because it might be a trap — the invaders could be disguising themselves… I said, “People, don’t gather!” They asked, “Don’t you want it to be true?” “Of course I do,” I replied, “but we were warned it could be a provocation.” I didn’t believe it. And Kherson was abuzz.

When we returned to the island, the talk was the same: “Did you hear?” “Is it true?” When it became clear that our forces really had come, we gathered everyone on the island and celebrated. Each family brought whatever they had, and we sat together, sang, took photos, and cried. Even the cat found us and sat at the table with us!

Then, the islands became a target for shelling. They used drones to watch where people were moving and fired at those spots. Soon everyone had fled, and we left in a hurry too.

We left our belongings behind but took the cats. Three carriers, two backpacks.

The dacha is now under orc control. We don’t know if we’ll ever return. Is it mined, is it destroyed? At least we have our animals with us. 

Viktor Shapoval has led Askania-Nova for two months longer than the duration of the full-scale war with russia. Prior to this role, he served for 20 years as a research officer and head of the biomonitoring and protected steppe laboratory within the reserve, joining right after graduating from Kherson State University. Over this time, he has not only acquired extensive knowledge about the unique steppe environment but has also, as he says, developed a deep love for Askania. It pains him to watch from afar as the reserve suffers under russian occupation, a situation he shares in the following interview.

History and Significance

The full-scale invasion marks Askania’s third encounter with war, and military conflicts are fundamentally incompatible with preserving natural reserves. During the Second World War, German and Soviet forces ravaged Askania-Nova’s infrastructure, showing little regard for the animals’ welfare; the Germans even transported a significant part of the collection away. This happened during the First World War as well. Currently, only its distance from the frontline provides a degree of safety.

Askania-Nova was seized on the first day of the full-scale invasion without notable resistance as the fighting began closer to the Dnipro River and near Melitopol. There were only isolated clashes near the reserve, and damaged military vehicles were found on its outskirts. However, the level of combat intensity witnessed in other Ukrainian protected areas did not occur in Askania-Nova.

It wasn’t until two months later, on May 2, 2022, that representatives of the occupation authorities arrived. During their visit, I heard much “instruction” about the so-called “special military operation,” responsibility, and other such nonsense. I made my Ukrainian stance and a lack of desire to cooperate clear. That, unsurprisingly, was not well-received. I also stated the amount required to sustain the reserve, and from their reaction, I saw that they appeared “a bit” surprised. They assumed they could simply step in and “rescue” us but this happened to be too expensive.

I believe the reason for their initial delay in coming to Askania-Nova was banal: they prioritized capturing profitable farms and agricultural enterprises. There is no need to look for any environmental logic or understanding of the historical value of Askania-Nova in their actions. They were utterly disinterested in the history, cultural and ecological value, or international conservation status of the reserve. 

Money and Support

The reserve is a budget-funded institution, so we had a procurement plan, with the final stages of tendering scheduled for late February. Naturally, everything was disrupted, and we faced a challenge in sourcing food for the animals. This didn’t mean starvation struck immediately. We had some reserves, but the feed consumption in Askania-Nova is quite high.

The frontline severely disrupted and cut off all logistics — Askania-Nova essentially turned into an isolated island amid a swamp. We had no choice but to openly request help via social media. It was a risky move; it’s no secret that the FSB monitors social media.

When we posted our first message about Askania-Nova’s critical needs, we connected with Oleksandr Todorchuk [founder of UAnimals]. Late that night, he wired us a substantial amount. A person we had never interacted with understood the situation and trusted us. We used that initial donation from UAnimals to purchase the first batch of feed. And we are incredibly grateful.

All those willing to help, including international partners and charitable organizations, could only support us financially. Delivering supplies to Askania-Nova from [Ukraine-]controlled territory was impossible, and requesting it from the other side was simply immoral, and we rejected that idea outright. We purchased goods within the occupied territory from our local farms. Thanks to this assistance, we managed to sustain ourselves in almost autonomous mode for more then a year.

Duty and Responsibility

The question of evacuation was not open for me for a long time. The responsibility for the reserve rested squarely on me as the director. For employees whose presence wasn’t essential on-site, we implemented remote work. However, those who cared for the animals and plants remained in the reserve on their workplaces.

We are neither a library nor a trolleybus depot — you can’t close us for a certain period of time and ask the animals to wait.

I left on the last day before the annexation was announced, on September 30, 2022. During the seven months I was in Askania, we stabilized the situation — securing feed, building materials for routine repairs, and spare parts for equipment maintenance.

A budget-funded institution has specific obligations, such as preparing financial and scientific reports. While on occupied territory, I couldn’t fulfill these. By leaving, I was able to meet with our partners and arrange charitable funding for the reserve, managing Askania-Nova remotely.

Even in such challenging circumstances, the reserve operated under Ukrainian jurisdiction. It’s telling that on collaborator Volodymyr Saldo’s channel, there was information of Askania-Nova “sabotaging” the russian authorities’ orders for over a year — a recognition of our resistance by the invaders themselves. To me, “sabotaged” is too mild a term.

On March 20, 2023, Dmitry Meshcheryakov was installed as the occupation director. Since then, all charitable expenses for Askania-Nova’s upkeep have ceased.

We still receive information about what is happening in the reserve, but I no longer have direct leverage. We document all the damage to the natural and artificial ecosystems in Askania-Nova, develop proposals for assessing these damages, and relay this to the relevant authorities and agencies to ensure future compensation through reparations from the agressor.

Our scientific work continues. We received a certification confirming the institution’s status as a scientific establishment, we continue to carry out a research program, and publish the professional journal Bulletin of the Biosphere Reserve Askania-Nova. 

There are still many things that can be accomplished remotely. For example, we document all fires. Up until March 2023, we could inspect fire zones directly, but now we rely on satellite images.

Negligence and Lawlessness

In August 2023, there was a large-scale fire in the Great Chapelsky Hollow [also referred to as the Great Chapelsky Lowland] where hoofed animals are kept. Predictably, the invaders immediately blamed the Ukrainian Armed Forces, alleging that artillery fire was the cause. They even announced some sort of investigation, but judging by the silence that followed, they quickly realized their own involvement in the course of this “investigation.”

The lack of proper scientific and veterinary oversight in the reserve causes significant issues and animal deaths. For instance, in November 2023, three African buffaloes died on the Big Chapelsky Pod. You might ask why a warm-climate African animal was left in unsuitable conditions in November. The answer is simple: the occupation administration has no relevant experience. They failed to properly move the animals to winter enclosures. Another animal died from an injury caused by a vehicle — a buffalo fractured its cervical vertebra and died on the spot. We have reported all these incidents to law enforcement.

The animals also suffer from the constant flyovers of russian aircraft above Askania. In August 2022, during one such flyover, a nilgai antelope panicked and collided with a concrete wall. Environmental laws prohibit flying over reserves due to the stress it causes the animals.

The invaders are even stealing our animals. On December 1, 2023, they took seven animals, including two Przewalski’s horses. We notified the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the National Commission for UNESCO, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through official letters.

The Przewalski’s horse is a species listed under a special appendix to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which russia has also ratified. But whether the terrorist state follows international norms is a rhetorical question.

Only the liberation of Askania-Nova will put a stop to the invaders’ unlawful actions. The only real safeguard against this is the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Currently, Askania is operating on inertia, surviving solely due to the dedication of the Ukrainian staff with many years of experience.

Yet, I have to give the occupation authorities credit — they’ve become adept at creating an image of “happy life” under the russian flag. The russians have now opened up excursion routes and are claiming it as an achievement. These routes existed long before the occupation administration arrived and even long before I was born — dating back to Friedrich von Falz-Fein (1863–1920) was the founder of Askania-Nova nature reserve complex.Friedrich von Falz-Fein. Only professional propagandists could so skillfully claim others’ accomplishments as their own and parade them as their achievements.

Liberation and Restoration

We are currently in a state of uncertainty. Only after the liberation will we understand exactly what needs to be restored in Askania-Nova.

It’s clear that the invaders will take some animals away, and some will die. But I believe some animals will remain — surviving even through catastrophic circumstances. We will work to restore their populations.

We might face a major demining problem in the reserve. The soil cover is also damaged by craters and trenches. The invaders started digging a trench even in the virgin steppe, but we managed to stop these insane actions. 

We know that trees are being cut down in the arboretum, and certain significant collections have already perished. We will need to restore the infrastructure, the territory, collection funds, and the natural ecosystems.

Through this experience, I can say that I’ve come to fully grasp a deep love and attachment to Askania-Nova, one that only became clear to me when I was deprived of it. I am no different from the hundreds of other enthusiasts working in the nature conservation field. It’s not highly profitable, but for us, it’s a calling. This is work that captures you and demands a natural reverence for nature. It’s a commitment for life.

This publication was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.

Main image: Viktor Shapoval. Source: Dim TV channel

Rallies, photo exhibitions, film screenings, installations in European cities and overseas — activists and politicians often raise the issue of ecocide. They draw attention to crimes against the environment and call for the punishment of the perpetrators. However, just punishment requires not only high-profile events and publicity, but also meticulous legal work. 

This is exactly what the team of the Truth Hounds NGO do: they study facts, collect evidence and testimonies, compile legal theories, and thus help law enforcement officers in Ukraine and abroad bring the perpetrators to justice. 

Next, we will talk about the ins and outs of this work: why Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are registering fewer and fewer cases under the ecocide article, whether Ukrainian and international law protects the environment in times of war, and how Ukraine’s ratification of the Rome Statute will help.

The Work of Truth Hounds

— Truth Hounds has been studying environmental damage from hostilities in eastern Ukraine since before the full-scale invasion. Could you tell us about the most serious incidents you documented at that time?

— In the occupied part of the Donetsk region, russians decommissioned mines without proper safety measures. As a result, these inactive mines were filled with water. This is dangerous for several reasons. First, after coal mining, harmful substances settle in the mines. Second, there was information that some mines were used to test underground nuclear explosions. The radioactive materials generated after the explosions and other harmful substances from the mines can seep with the water into different layers of the soil. 

— Have you tried looking for those responsible for this negligence? 

— Our goal was not so much to expose those who planned, organized, and authorized the decommissioning of the mines, but to highlight russia’s treatment of nature in the occupied territories. However, the environmental damage in the war-torn territories, even before the full-scale invasion, is not limited to the coal industry. According to our Training and Strategic Projects Coordinator Maryna Slobodianiuk, potential war crimes include the shelling of the Avdiivka Coke Plant, Lysychansk Oil Refinery, the burning of dead wood in the Luhansk region, and the fire at the Azot Factory. However, all of these cases require not only rigorous investigation, but also long-term monitoring of the environmental impact. After all, it is important to prove that the actions of the russians have caused extensive and lasting damage to the environment.

— Next, let us consider a case where the damage is large-scale and very obvious: the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam. On the anniversary of the disaster, Truth Hounds released a study proving that the russians were responsible. You called on the International Criminal Court to conduct a thorough investigation of this crime and to expel russia from the bodies of environmental conventions. Did you manage to achieve this?

— Our position was not romantic: we did not expect that the investigation would immediately lead to a response and the exclusion of russia from everywhere. We simply stated our position: it is unacceptable to involve russia in discussions about the future of the world in terms of environmental protection when it treats the environment with such disregard.

It is difficult to say to what extent the bodies of environmental conventions hear and consider these calls. It is important to understand that not all countries understand what is happening in the same way as we and the Western world do. Some either see the world differently, or have limited information, or simply cannot afford to support the position of Western powers without a second thought. So, there are limits to the exclusion of russia from various organizations, even if much has been achieved. I think we are standing somewhere on this threshold, and we should not be expecting russia to be actively excluded any further. At the same time, calls for this must be voiced. 

So far, we have held only a few advocacy events, such as a discussion in The Hague at the Environmental Peacebuilding Association conference. But there are other events coming up — several events with a focus on environmental organizations, including those from the United Nations system. Perhaps this will give more space to share the truth about what happened in Kakhovka. 

Also, the International Criminal Court is definitely looking at this episode and deciding whether to move forward with a full investigation. It depends not only on how serious a crime russia has committed, but also on the prosecutor’s overall strategy.

— Do our law enforcement agencies take into account the information collected by Truth Hounds documenters about this crime?

— Just a few days after the presentation of the report, we received a request from the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office: they asked us to officially provide them with the report and all the information we had collected, because this is the only way they can take this evidence into account. We provided all the materials. 

However, this is not the only line of our cooperation. We have also organized three workshops at the request of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office. We shared the experience gained while writing the report and explained to prosecutors how international law regulates environmental protection and defines crimes against the environment. 

We have also presented our findings in the Kakhovka case to prosecutors from both the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office and the Department of War. This can help them better prepare for the trial. After all, there are quite a few options for describing the Kakhovka tragedy in legal terms. That description determines what evidence to collect, how to combine it, and the general logic of the assessment to be offered to the court.

Ecocide or Not?

— The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam is almost a textbook example of ecocide, which is most often mentioned in the media. But the Prosecutor General’s Office also named the occupation of the Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants as examples. Why can these actions of the russians be characterized as ecocide? What other crimes would you call ecocide? 

— Not every kind of environmental damage during a war can be considered ecocide. International humanitarian law applies in such circumstances, allowing for the shelling of the territory of another state and environmental damage during such shelling. The only requirement is that the damage must be proportional to the military advantage anticipated. Therefore, only a violation of this requirement can be called a war crime or a war crime and ecocide. 

The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine is considering a number of such episodes. 

For example, the attack on the Kakhovka dam can be qualified as an attack on a civilian target or a disproportionate attack on a military target, which is a war crime. Due to the environmental consequences of this crime, we can call it ecocide. In this case, we can definitely consider a double classification.

I think the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant can be a similar case. This is an attack on a protected site that can be considered a war crime. Next, we need to look at the damage, be it actual or potential. 

In the case of the Chornobyl power plant, however, it is not so much an attack on the facility itself as its use to shield military operations. Under international humanitarian law, there is an obligation not to locate military facilities near civilian ones. There might be a possibility to consider such actions as a war crime, and if there was damage to the environment, it may be labelled as ecocide as well. 

Another angle that prosecutors focused on was attacks on oil storage facilities and other fuel storage facilities. The environmental damage here is obvious, and at least it falls under the Ukrainian definition of ecocide. However, international humanitarian law considers such facilities to be military rather than civilian. In order to consider attacks on them as a war crime and ecocide, one would have to develop a very sophisticated legal framework. 

The crime of ecocide can also be seen in the management actions of the russians in the occupied territories. If they cause damage to the environment, it can be characterized as ecocide even without being linked to a war crime. Currently, we do not have access to that territory, so information is limited and it is difficult to proceed. But after the liberation, everything is possible. 

— Could the actions of the russians in Askania-Nova and other occupied reserves be called ecocide? For example, the kidnapping of rare animals, their negligent treatment, and fires in the virgin steppe.

— Any definition of ecocide is heavily burdened with value categories and lacks specificity. The Ukrainian definition under the criminal code states that an environmental catastrophe must be caused. There is no definition of an environmental catastrophe in Ukrainian law, so it all depends on how investigators interpret this concept: by encyclopedic definitions or by experts. 

Alternatively, to substantiate ecocide, the concept of “mass destruction of flora or fauna” will be required. It is also not defined, so it needs to be interpreted. Will the removal of a few animals from Askania Nova be a mass elimination of wildlife? Hardly. Is it possible to build an ecocide case against Askania-Nova in general? Perhaps. But to prove that this is an environmental disaster, we need to show its impact on the future.

How Laws Work

— Article 441 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine really lacks specifics about what constitutes ecocide. Some environmental activists and human rights defenders are calling for amendments to this article. Others object, saying that then we will not be able to retroactively punish crimes that russians have already committed in Ukraine. What do you think?

— I am not against changes to the article. It can be improved and harmonized with the international definition of ecocide, which is important for promoting its criminalization. I do not see any major risks that the amendments to the article will affect previous investigations. The old law will still be applied to previous episodes. 

— The Prosecutor General’s Office provides the following statistics on Article 441: 16 cases were opened in 2022, and seven in 2023. All of them are still under pre-trial investigation. In 2024, no cases were opened at all. Why do you think the figures are on the decline? It would seem that more and more testimonies and evidence should have surfaced.

— For me, this is an indication that the system is recovering. Prosecutors are becoming more aware of how difficult it is to prosecute environmental damage. They are carefully allocating resources to cases with real chances of achieving results in line with international standards, avoiding the pursuit of the number of registrations. 

— What is even more confusing about these figures is that the Prosecutor General’s Office has only been investigating ecocide crimes since February 2022. But the war began eight years before that. We have already discussed that even back then, russians were committing environmental crimes. Why do you think such cases were not opened earlier? 

— Previously, crimes against the environment were classified under other articles. For example, they used to prosecute for illegal mining. 

However, there is now international interest in criminalizing ecocide. There is no statute of limitations for such crimes, so it is possible to hold russia accountable for damage to the Ukrainian environment if sufficient evidence is found. Difficulties with this arise due to the lack of access to the occupied territories: we have not been in Crimea for more than 10 years. All we have are satellite images and testimonies of those who have left. But I think it is quite possible to accomplish at least some things. As for mining in the Crimean protected areas, it can be considered ecocide.

— Most people say that the main responsibility for the russian ecocide in Ukraine lies with the leadership of the terrorist state. They unleashed the war and issue criminal orders. But can we also bring to justice those russian military personnel who commit environmental crimes? 

— We can, but it depends on two key things: how much these soldiers participated in the illegal actions and what they knew about the consequences. For example, if the perpetrators had been told that the Kakhovka dam [disaster] would be a targeted explosion and that the amount of explosives would destroy only a small part of it, we could not charge them with a war crime. However, our report contains evidence to the contrary. We have a video where russian soldiers talked about the consequences of the dam destruction. 

Similarly, at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, we know of cases where the russian military tortures workers. This is a crime, and they jeopardize the safety of the entire power plant. Artillerymen who direct fire against the plant, especially repeatedly, know exactly where they are aiming. So it is not only the military and political leadership of russia that is responsible for these crimes.

On the Rome Statute and the Criminalization of Ecocide

— Ukraine has recently ratified the Rome Statute. Will we now be able to more actively advocate for the criminalization of ecocide? 

— Ukraine now has a number of options available to it, the key of which is the ability to vote and initiate consideration of issues at the assembly regarding the introduction of ecocide as a fifth international crime. 

We can also better understand internal sentiment: previously, we had only a general idea of which countries supported the criminalization of ecocide, but within the system, the position of each participant is more obvious. Thus, it is possible to more accurately calibrate the approach to raising awareness of this crime in bilateral relations with a particular nation. 

— Do you think other countries are ready to criminalize ecocide? 

— There are definitely governments today that strongly support the criminalization of ecocide. A certain coalition of countries has already been established, but there is no full consensus yet. 

Opponents of criminalization have a number of reservations. In particular, they fear that accusing company executives of ecocide will limit international business and that such accusations will be used politically. Some believe that the four defined crimes are enough to punish environmental offenders. In particular, crimes against humanity cover other inhumane acts, which theoretically may be the acts of ecocide.

Experts and entire nations are working to convince most countries in the world to criminalize ecocide. Because it will protect the environment rather than lead to a global catastrophe.

This publication was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.

Main image: Dmytro Koval. Source: Truth Hounds.

Militaries worldwide emit greenhouse gases that accelerate global warming. russia, with all its emissions caused by war, is accelerating the process even more. Meanwhile, we are no more than four years away from a 1.5°C rise in the global average annual temperature relative to pre-industrial levels.

Can anything still be done?

Olha Chevhaniuk, Head of Strategic Initiatives at UAnimals, talked about this with Lennard de Klerk live on air. We share the highlights of this conversation.  

A Little Green Capitalist

I grew up in a Dutch village with three older brothers. All of us brothers had several nicknames. One of my nicknames was Green Capitalist. Capitalist — because I didn’t mind making money, Green came because I was always concerned about the environment and cleaning up our mess.

My father had a factory. He produced packaging material for flowers, which is very fitting for the Netherlands. As a child during summers, I worked in the factory, and because of that, I became interested in the environment. You know, see all the plastic, you have waste materials… I was often working with a small recycling machine, trying to reuse the plastic materials. It was already a circular economy in the early days.

I started my studies in the early nineties when the Soviet Union fell apart. I realized that we in the West had no clue about what we called the East block, about all these different countries and nations. My parents had a satellite dish and I was playing a lot with it. I managed to get all these TV channels from Hungary, Romania, and the Baltic states. I got sort of interested in the part of Europe I knew nothing about. So, I started working in an engineering and consulting firm, which had its biggest office in Kyiv.

I knew nothing about Ukraine. I’m ashamed to say it now, but like many of us, I thought it was “sort of russia, but a little bit different.” I lived there for several years, traveled around the country, and learned about its regions and proud history, and I fell a little bit in love with the country. It was 1999-2001 — these were difficult times for Ukraine. The murder of the journalist Georgiy Gongadze happened, Leonid Kuchma was a president, so it was not always going in the right direction, but you could see a country developing so much differently from russia.

To cut a long story short, when I got back to the Netherlands, I started working for the Dutch government and got involved in climate change, helping to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

What brought you to research the impact of the war on climate change?

I live in Hungary and run a climate-neutral resort there. When the full-scale invasion started, we were able to house many Ukrainians who were on their way to Europe so that they could recover from the week in a car. I thought, what can I do besides helping refugees?

Since climate change is my expertise, I started thinking about what russian aggression does to the climate. When I started to work on this topic, I told friends and colleagues, and we realized that this was never done before — to look at the impact of conflict on climate.

The impact of this war is mostly on Ukraine’s territory. However, it also increases greenhouse gas emissions and accelerates global warming. I believe that by telling this story, we will also be able to show that russian aggression impacts the world.  

A Reminder about Climate Change

Climate change is caused by the emission of so-called greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas, but we have other gases besides CO2: methane, nitrous oxide, halogenated other gases. There are also gases such as sulphur dioxide, ammonia and black carbon aerosols. They all accumulate in the atmosphere. As a result, they trap the heat of the sun. That is why the average temperature in the world is going up.

In the UN’s Paris Agreement, we agreed to limit this increase in temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. We cannot stop climate change anymore, it’s too late. But if we limit it to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, it is more or less manageable.  

If we get to 2 degrees or more, we will not be able to manage it anymore: catastrophic weather events can occur. We will have people on the move, etc. 

We only have 4 years left before the amount of greenhouse gases accumulated in the atmosphere is already enough to raise temperatures by 1.5 degrees.

So, we really have to work very hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically. But russia, with this war, is doing the opposite — it is causing more emissions. It is basically accelerating the growth of temperature and, therefore, the impact of climate change. 

War in Ukraine and Greenhouse Gases — What’s in Common?

What are the key environmental consequences of this war?

We concluded that the total emissions caused by the war were 175 tons of CO2.

•   It is the same as the Netherlands, with 18 million inhabitants emits in a year. The Netherlands is a highly industrialized country.
•   It is the same as putting 90 million new petrol cars on the road.
•   Or building 260 coal-fired power plant units of 200 MW each.

It is significant. 

Of course, if you look at the total picture of the world’s emissions, it is relatively small. But again — you should understand that we should bring the emissions down, they should ultimately reach zero. But the war is pushing emissions in the opposite direction.

How much of an impact do the burning russian oil depots have on climate?

We looked at different categories of emissions, including energy infrastructure — all the emissions caused by the damage done to power stations. That includes the emissions from oil depots that are put burning not only in russia, but also the oil depots that russians have destroyed in Ukraine. The total impact of energy infrastructure is 10%. But if we look at burning deposits, it’s relatively small. It’s below 1% of the total.

More important is the direct use of the military. All these tanks, all these vehicles use enormous amounts of diesel and kerosene. And that causes tremendous amounts of emissions.

Are more emissions generated in russia since they are at war, increasing manufacturing and energy use?

Yes, in particular in the production of military equipment. They use a lot of steel, and steel is a very carbon-intensive material. We haven’t seen the numbers yet. Every country must report their emission numbers to the UN with a 2-year delay, and russia hasn’t published its report for 2022. But I do expect an increase there.

Where does russia rank in terms of emissions on a global scale?

The first one is China, second is the USA. russia is ranked fifth.

Ukraine is much lower, simply because it’s a smaller country.

If the war doesn’t stop, what changes will we have?

Climate change will continue. It might very well be that these extra emissions caused by russia will not impact Ukraine but will cause flooding in Bangladesh or fire in the Amazon. It’s a global phenomenon. You cannot distinguish who caused what. This is just contributing to the buildup of greenhouse gases. 

The Indirect Impact

Do you feel your studies influence decision-making? 

It’s an eye-opener. As it was an eye-opener for me to see that conflict does so much to climate.

Militaries all around the world emit much CO2, even if there’s no war. Military emissions are about 5% of the world’s total. They train, they practice using military transport…  

russian aggression made all Europe realize that we are not safe—therefore, we have to invest more in defense. Many countries in Europe are increasing military spending and investing more in military equipment. That means military emissions will also go up. With a delay, it will increase emissions worldwide.

I fully understand that climate change is not the biggest problem for Ukraine now. You are fighting to survive as a nation. This story doesn’t hit the headlines in Ukraine; I think it’s normal.

But what you see in Europe, militaries like NATO realize that they contribute a lot to climate change. One of my latest conferences was in June in Oslo, about European defense, where several militaries came together to discuss how they can reduce the environmental impact of what they do. Climate change was one of the main topics. They agree to start working on decarbonization, reducing emissions. So it is getting there.

Another interesting impact of wars is that the war also changed supply lines in the world.

russia closed its airspace above Siberia for Western airplanes. If you fly from London to Tokio, it normally takes 11 hours, but now airlines take completely different routes over Canada, which makes the flight 4 hours longer, meaning more kerosine, more CO2 emissions. We are working on getting more precise numbers of the impact on aviation.

It has parallels with conflicts around the world. For example, houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea. A lot of marine transport is avoiding the Red Sea; it has to detour Africa, meaning more diesel and more emissions.

After the War

What impact are you expecting from your studies?

The most significant impact would be to hold the russian federation accountable for those emissions. That is a long shot. The legal system works slowly, and it would be particularly for this case. There is no precedent. It will definitely take years. But when it happens, it will show to the world that anyone will be responsible in case of this part of aggression — environmental crime.

A study published in Nature describes the total damage caused by every ton of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere: 185 US dollars. If we consider 175 million tons of CO2, we are talking about damage of almost 33 billion US dollars. This damage will happen somewhere in the world. We don’t know when or where, but it will happen.

That is the compensation we are anticipating from russia.

The idea is that part of the money goes to Ukraine to recover, for example, by replanting the forests that went up on fire because of the shelling. Also, for the reconstruction of buildings, by using less fossil fuels, less steel, but more climate-friendly materials.

The other part should go to the Global South — the developing countries impacted by climate change to improve water management, for example.  

You in Ukraine have such a strong civil society. Once this horrible war is over, reconstruction will be done in a way that is thought-through.

Civil society organizations should be very loud to the government about how to work on it. There will be a lot of money coming from the West to help Ukraine recover, but it is your role as a civil society to make sure this money is well spent.

It will not be easy, but I’m confident you will do it right in a sustainable way. You are tough cookies.

This publication was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.

Main image: Lennard de Klerk. Source: Ministry of Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine

The Black and Azov Seas are home to three species of dolphins, each suffering in its own way due to russian aggression. What do we already know about how military actions affect them, and how can we help nature endure? Pavlo Holdin, a zoologist, ecologist, and expert on modern and extinct marine mammals, sheds light on these issues.

Currently, there are many conflicting reports regarding the number of dolphins killed since the full-scale invasion began. Some say 50,000, others mention 60,000 or more, while some believe these numbers are exaggerated. What do you think?

Any number mentioned right now—whether it is 10 dolphins or 100,000—has no scientific basis whatsoever. In 2019, Ukrainian researchers conducted an extensive aerial survey of the Black Sea. After the war, after our victory, we can fly again and cover all our waters, including those around Crimea. That will give us an idea of where dolphin populations have increased or decreased and how many remain in total, and then we can assess how many may have died. 

Until then, I believe it is premature to draw definitive conclusions. For now, the figures we [the Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of Sea] provide relate to the bodies of animals found onshore. Of course, this assessment can and should be supplemented in the future with ecological modeling and extrapolated to estimate total losses.

So, what confirmed data do we have?

In 2022, more than 900 cases of dolphin deaths were recorded in the Black Sea region. This includes Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Georgia. Naturally, this does not cover all the incidents, but it is a starting point for analysis and modeling. 

It is also important to note that we only work with verified photos and video recordings of deceased dolphins. Whenever we receive such materials, we verify them to ensure they are not fake, as media reports have sometimes falsely claimed sightings of dead dolphins that turned out to be from different locations or times.

Can I assume that such disinformation, especially if coming from russians, aims to undermine and discredit ecocide documentation efforts?

I do not know. But if we look at the official russian discourse, they try to downplay the scale of the deaths and claim nothing is happening, even when a dolphin carcass washes ashore in the center of Sevastopol.

There is a significant difference between their official and unofficial narratives. Their only similarity is that both are lies.

Can we identify an event or series of events that are most likely causing dolphin deaths?

The only cautious conclusion I can make is that the animals are dying for various reasons. It is unlikely we’ll find that all the deaths stem from a single cause. 

To draw an analogy, though it may seem imperfect, let us look at how war affects people. There are direct life-threatening factors, such as bombardment with various weapons. But people also die from heart attacks, strokes, or from not receiving timely medical care, lacking clean water, or from increased infection rates. 

When forensic pathologists examine the deceased, they find various causes of death, but investigators and prosecutors may conclude that the root cause is war.

The same applies to wildlife, including dolphins. There are multiple threats to their lives and health. Missile launches from surface and underwater naval vessels, whether successful or not, pose a danger. A failed missile that crashes into the sea contaminates the dolphins’ environment with rocket fuel. Even a missile that was successfully launched underwater exposes the animals to harmful noise. Speaking of noise pollution, another source is russian radar systems, which also harm marine mammals. Thus, due to the war, animals are suffering from both acoustic trauma and chemical pollution.

Stress is another threat to the animals. And it is not just the dolphins that are stressed; the fish they feed on are too. To put it simply, the fish get scared and move away, and the dolphins follow. This migration into unfamiliar conditions increases the risk of them getting caught in fishing nets.

There is also speculation that dolphins can suffer from concussions even far from combat zones. A recent article in Science suggested that mild concussions might be a possible cause of whale strandings around the world. While we need technologically complex studies to confirm this, it is not something we can rule out as being connected to the war.

The destruction of sewage systems or larger-scale events, such as the russian military’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam, is also dangerous for dolphins. These incidents release large amounts of organic matter into the sea—from agricultural fertilizers to sewage from cities. This raises the risk of infectious diseases and provides the conditions for phenomena like “red tides,” massive algal blooms. Some of these algae release toxins into the sea.

If a dolphin washes ashore in Bulgaria or Georgia, for example, can this also be linked to the war?

Biological and veterinary analyses are needed to confirm that. When we study what is happening to dolphins in the Black Sea, we must consider everything, because there are no state borders for animals. The impact might occur within our economic zone, say, halfway between Snake Island and Crimea, but the aftermath could manifest in Bulgaria or Turkey.

Then, it is important to establish cooperation with other countries to jointly assess the effects of the war on marine animals. Is such cooperation in place, and how does it work?

Yes, cooperation has been established. Colleagues in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Georgia perform autopsies on dead dolphins, conduct laboratory analyses, and share their data and findings with us. 

However, as in Ukraine, the capabilities for such research are limited in all Black Sea countries: no government funds autopsies or analyses. Scientists carry out these studies only when they can and out of their own initiative. 

Considering that dolphin bodies decompose quickly, very few are suitable for autopsy. As a result, the data we receive is quite scarce.

As far as I know, dolphins are at the top of the food chain. How does their death affect the Black Sea ecosystem?

Yes, dolphins are at the top of the food web. We use the term “web” because it is not a single chain but a network of interconnected chains. 

Dolphins are considered keystone species, meaning that top predators like them stabilize entire ecosystems. In the Black Sea, dolphins regulate fish populations, and in turn, fish control the populations of zooplankton, phytoplankton, crustaceans, etc.

So, if dolphins are absent (or too few), fish begin reproducing uncontrollably. When there are too many fish, they deplete zooplankton, and that leads to the unchecked growth of microalgae. The toxins from these algae can kill both zooplankton and fish. In the end, we end up with a sea overrun by algae where little else can survive. 

Moreover, when dolphins die out, their place is often taken by jellyfish or, even worse, comb jellies. There have been cases in history where the mass death of dolphins led to ecological disasters.

In the 80s and 90s, up to 90% of Black Sea dolphins perished. This was caused by the dolphin hunting industry, which thrived until 1983. Around the same time, a species of comb jelly, Mnemiopsis, entered the Black Sea through ballast water. With no competition, it multiplied rapidly—an aggressive spread of an alien species is known scientifically as a bioinvasion. As a result, in the 1990s, Mnemiopsis consumed the eggs of almost all common fish species, and anchovy catches dropped 100 to 200 times by 1991. It was even said the Black Sea could become a dead one.

Ironically, the dolphin population recovered partly due to another bioinvasion, an accidental one at that. In 1997–1999, another species of comb jelly, Beroe, was introduced into the Black Sea, and it fed on Mnemiopsis.

In your opinion, how difficult will it be to restore the dolphin population after the war?

Ukraine is home to various dolphin populations. We have three species: the harbor porpoise, the common dolphin, and the bottlenose dolphin. Each species has its own life cycle, lifespan, reproduction rate, and so forth.

As of now, the common dolphin, is doing relatively well. This species is mostly found in the open sea and stays away from the coast.

On the other hand, the harbor porpoise suffers greatly due to human activity. Although no one hunts it intentionally, it often gets accidentally caught in fishing nets. Each year, 12,000–16,000 porpoises die this way, one of the highest rates in the world. Due to this constant pressure, porpoises reproduce quickly: females give birth almost every year and reach sexual maturity at just three years of age, or perhaps even earlier now.

In contrast, the Black Sea bottlenose dolphin reproduces much more slowly, giving birth only once every three years, and reaching sexual maturity at 5–6 years, sometimes even later. This species is listed as endangered and is the largest dolphin in our waters with the smallest population.

Bottlenose dolphins are divided into several local groups. Some groups can be large, numbering in the hundreds, while others are much smaller. For example, near Dzharylhach Island, between 2016 and 2020, we studied a group of fewer than 50 bottlenose dolphins.

Bottlenose dolphins have strong cultural traditions and sophisticated social relationships—they are highly attached to their home territory. If some russian soldiers were to shoot them near Dzharylhach, the dolphins would simply disappear from that area, leaving it desolate for decades.

Therefore, even if we assume that the overall dolphin population in the Black Sea recovers, it does not mean that each small group of bottlenose dolphins will survive. It is entirely possible that while things may look fine in the center of the sea, the situation near the shores—particularly near our shores—will be much worse. And it is crucial to understand this: the bottlenose dolphin population cannot be replenished in captivity. Second-generation offspring simply do not get born in captivity.

Thus, bottlenose dolphins are the most at risk, especially in peripheral areas where fighting occurs, and even in areas without direct combat.

What non-combat measures negatively affect them?

The russians are distorting nature. They do not just destroy dams—they build new ones, and that is bad.

They constructed a causeway between Dzharylhach Island and the occupied mainland of Ukraine. Fortunately, nature took care of it: in 2023, a massive storm washed it away. But that causeway posed a threat to the Dzharylhach Bay ecosystem by blocking the water exchange with the open sea.

As for the Kerch Bridge, it does not just threaten nature—it has already caused harm. 

Firstly, its construction generated severe acoustic pollution, harmful to dolphins.

Secondly, there is now a dam between Tuzla Island and the Caucasian shore, damaging the ecosystem of the Taman Bay and the Kerch Strait, where small herds of bottlenose dolphins live. It also endangers the entire ecosystem of the Sea of Azov, home to a unique population of harbor porpoises.

What can Ukraine do to protect Black Sea marine mammals? How can we at least reduce our own negative impact on them?

Scientists propose three main areas of work, which align with the international convention that came into force in Ukraine back in 2003.

• The first is to reduce accidental dolphin deaths. We can learn from the experience of Romania and Bulgaria, where special devices are installed on fishing nets to deter harbor porpoises.
• The second is to expand the network of protected areas. This requires political will since it requires legislative changes. It is crucial to start this process now, even during the war, and especially to create these protected marine areas in Crimean waters.
• The third area is to strengthen government control over pollution sources—biological, chemical, and acoustic. This is not about punishment but about systemic recommendations. In other words, experts should be present to say, “Do not operate here right now because fish are coming,” or “This area is clear for operations.”

Will the abolition of dolphinariums affect the dolphin population? 

It will, and significantly. We do not have large herds of bottlenose dolphins like in the Pacific, where they number in the thousands. Our groups are small, each with its own routes and feeding grounds. When a dolphinarium poacher catches five bottlenose dolphins, it can have fatal consequences for the entire group.

For our country, dolphinariums are evil. Public pressure is key here—going to dolphinariums should become bad taste.

This publication was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.

Main photo: NGL media. Photographer: Maxym Kozmenko

Vika Horchuk, a Kyiv resident, had no connection to dogs until 2011 when she got her first dog—a Yorkshire Terrier named Dream. Why a Yorkie? Vika traveled extensively and was looking for a small dog that could accompany her in the airplane cabin. However, Dream grew larger than expected, exceeding all permissible limits for carry-on baggage.

Initially, Vika searched for places to leave the sizable Dream while she traveled. Later, she added a Bobtail named Summer and a small mixed-breed dog named Blue Moon to her family. The question of where to leave her pets took on three dimensions. So, in 2019, Vika opened her own dog hotel, with Blue Moon as the symbol on its logo and business cards.

The hotel founder had rescued Blue Moon from negligent owners. But let Vika tell the story herself.

— I took Moon on my birthday.

I didn’t get Moon from a shelter but from very poor conditions. I came across an online ad selling a puppy. When I saw the little one and the background of where she was sitting… It was a dreadful floor, like in a barn, with concrete everywhere. I thought to myself: I must take her away from there, no matter what. I had been considering whether I could care for another dog and how Dream would feel about it. But when I saw that puppy, I immediately decided she was mine.

When I arrived to meet her, they didn’t even let me inside to see where the dog lived. I took her and brought her to a clinic: she was covered in fleas, bitten, with no vaccinations. She had to go into quarantine for inpatient treatment. There, they bathed her, treated her, vaccinated her, and sterilized her.

In English, there’s a phrase “once in a blue moon”—something that happens very rarely. That’s why I named her Blue Moon. She’s unique! Every mixed-breed dog is unique by nature.

— In your experience, are mixed-breeds smart dogs, or are they hard to train?

— Oh, they’re very smart! But it’s important to understand that all dogs are different—much depends on their life experiences and the conditions they have experienced. Dream is smart, Summer is smart, but Moon is a super trickster! She learns very quickly and often invents her own games.

She knows that when I bring home a grocery bag, she’s not supposed to get into it. But Moon tries to outsmart me: she tosses a ball into the bag and then peeks inside. I say, “Moon! No.” And she looks at me like, “But my toy’s in there!”

The mixed-breed dogs that have stayed at our hotel are all super cool too. Sometimes they’re more fearful than purebred dogs. However, once they realize they’re safe, they turn out to be very inventive and friendly animals. I adore them.

— What challenges can arise if someone adopts a dog from a shelter or the streets? Can you tell me about your experience?

— When we got home with Moon, all hell broke loose… Moon peed on the bed. I changed the sheets three times a day. Over time, I trained Moon to use a pee pad: she got treats as positive reinforcement. Moon figured out that when she went on the pad, she got a treat, so she started peeing there just a little at a time. Now, she goes for walks.

Moon is still afraid of feet. I lie in bed with my legs under the blanket. If Moon notices my foot move, she runs to another part of the apartment or to her bed. I never hit her. Maybe she was beaten where I got her from.

She is also wary of strangers. If someone is coming to visit, they must first meet Moon outside. The person plays with her a bit, and then they come in. The rule is: don’t touch Moon, and don’t pay her any attention until she approaches you on her own.

— What else should you prepare for when adopting a shelter dog?

— You need to be financially prepared.

Firstly, you will have to spend money on dog food. For my three dogs, the monthly cost of food is about 10,000 UAH. How much you will spend depends on the dog’s weight and the quality of the food. And this quality directly impacts the dog’s health.

Secondly, you will also need to budget for flea, tick, and deworming treatments, which are necessary year-round. Your dog will need basic vaccinations, and there are additional ones to consider, like the kennel cough vaccine. Puppies and dogs with weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable, so vaccination is essential.

Sessions with a dog trainer and veterinary services can be quite costly. I take my dogs for a check-up at the clinic every six months. I also get their teeth cleaned. There are also expenses for leashes, toys, bowls, and potentially replacing items that might get damaged at home.

Be prepared for the fact that your dog may not be able to stay alone at first. They need to be gradually accustomed to being by themselves. It’s important not to create a situation where the dog is used to always having you around and then suddenly being left alone in a house or apartment.

Dogs adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic or at the start of the full-scale war were constantly with their owners. Then, when people returned to work at some point, these dogs couldn’t handle being home alone. They develop what is referred to as separation anxiety. Such dogs begin to spoil furniture or howl, which is their way of releasing stress. 

Regardless of whether you’re considering a mixed-breed or a purebred dog, you need to ask yourself: am I prepared, no matter what happens, to be there for this dog?

We all want healthy pets, just as we want healthy children, for example. However, in life, anything can happen. Accidents and traumas may occur. You’ll need patience, time, and the willingness to care for the animal. However, all these challenges are outweighed by the emotions—the loyal eyes, the moments when you come home, and the dogs jump around to greet you… Or when you open your eyes in the morning, and the dogs are right there, “Hey, human, scratch me!” These emotions are 100% worth all the effort. But it’s crucial to be honest with yourself about whether you’re ready for the difficulties.

— Do people bring mixed-breed dogs to your hotel?

— Yes, many do. And it’s encouraging to see that more people are adopting shelter dogs and getting non-purebred pets. Currently, we have Hovy (short for Hoverla), Mila, Motya, and Lando—all mixed breeds. Each dog is unique; there’s no other like them in the world. By the way, mixed-breed dogs are incredibly charming. We have a white mixed-breed named Teddy who visits from time to time. We’ve often been asked what breed this amazing dog is!

— Please, tell us about the caretakers. What motivates them to adopt dogs from shelters? 

— The people I know through my work are very responsible and involved.

Sometimes people adopt a purebred dog because it’s “cute and adorable.” They aren’t always as involved. For example, one purebred dog at home ate a plastic bag. We noticed this during a walk when cleaning up after the dog and informed its caretakers. They said, “That’s normal; it’s a Beagle!” Yes, Beagles are active, but that behavior isn’t normal.

Before caretakers leave a dog with us, we have a conversation, and they fill out a questionnaire. From the caretakers of mixed-breed dogs, we often receive much more information about the dog’s likes, dislikes, fears, and triggers than from the owners of purebreds.

People who adopt shelter dogs follow the principle of “don’t buy, rescue.” However, rescuing must also be done responsibly.

— Do you think the situation has changed after 2022?

— If we compare the number of mixed-breed dogs in our hotel before the full-scale war and now, there are definitely more now. Before the war, most of the mixed-breed dogs we saw belonged to foreigners or were brought in by IT professionals or people for whom rescuing animals is a core value. There are still many dogs in shelters, but it’s heartening to see that more of them are being adopted.

— Have you ever come across cases when people abandoned their dogs?

— Throughout my time working with dogs, I have encountered three instances of dogs being abandoned. Twice, dogs were simply left with us, and incidentally, they were purebred. On one occasion, we discovered through their caretakers’ social media that they had abandoned a mixed-breed dog. We found new homes for these dogs.

After the Kakhovka Reservoir dam was destroyed, we assisted a shelter in the Kyiv region. At that time, people approached us with requests like, “We want to adopt a dog, but it has to be from Kherson.” When we suggested other dogs available at the shelter, they insisted, “No, we want that one.” This isn’t a very considerate approach. Why do you want a dog? To say you’re a hero because you saved a dog from that specific place? 

You would be just as much of a hero if you adopted any dog that has been in a shelter for three, five, or even seven years…

— The war has also displaced many people. Having animals complicates the process, so UAnimals rescuers often have to rehome abandoned dogs in shelters. 

— How can anyone abandon a family member, whether it’s a mixed-breed or a purebred dog? Sometimes people say, “We’re leaving and can’t take the dog; it’s too difficult.” Yes, it’s difficult! But it’s possible. I’ve traveled abroad and returned with my three dogs. You’re not moving to Mars! It’s good when people at least reach out to volunteers rather than just tying the dog to a tree in the woods (unfortunately, that happens too).

We still have many people who believe it’s normal for a dog to live in a kennel on a meter-long chain. Absolutely not! Or that it’s okay to feed dogs table scraps because “that’s what they do in the village, and the dogs are fine.” No, it’s not fine! They don’t have a choice.

I don’t have any issues with dogs; my issues are always with people. Yes, a dog can destroy things or be aggressive; they can be challenging. But you can work on a dog’s behavior, and if the caretaker is fully committed to training the dog, it’s likely to be successful.

— Taking care of a dog is quite an undertaking. What is the point of so much effort? 

— It’s what keeps you from completely going crazy, even when you’re at your limit. No matter how I feel, the dog needs to be walked. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn’t adopted Moon. There are times when I’m in a terrible mood, everyone has gotten on my nerves… But then the dog licks me, kisses me, or Moon throws her little crocodile toy onto my laptop… These are just genuine emotions that keep you going.

I know of a case where a woman gave up her dog because she got a new boyfriend, and they didn’t get along. It’s sad because the dog was already part of the family.

As for me, I have it written right on my Tinder profile, “If you’re not ready to sleep in bed with dogs, swipe left.”

Our first attempt to talk with Viktor Vorotnikov, a veterinarian and head of the Veterinarians Without Borders organization from Krasnohrad, Kharkiv region, was put off. “I have surgeries starting soon, sorry. They will take the whole day,” explained the doctor. However, we managed to connect the next day. “Convenient or not—if I promised, I have to keep it,” Viktor laughed.

On the day we couldn’t speak, he was in Izium, where he, along with two assistants and another veterinarian, performed around 70 surgeries. Last year alone, his clinic team sterilized up to 15,000 animals. Since the start of the full-scale war, Viktor and his colleagues have operated on over 5,000 animals rescued during sterilization missions and UAnimals evacuation trips.

What is it like, to save animals affected by war? Does the veterinarian witness more humanity or indifference? Viktor shared his experiences.

— How did you connect your life with veterinary medicine?

— I have dreamed of saving animals since childhood! Even in play, I pretended to treat rabbits—one had an “earache,” another had a “sore leg.” As I grew up, these games became my daily reality. I first studied at a vocational school in the veterinary department, then graduated from the Kharkiv Veterinary Institute. I’ve been in this profession for 42 years.

Now, I work in my own clinic and in the field. We have two mobile surgery units, so we travel to frontline areas. In 5-6 days on such a mission, we manage to operate on at least 300, sometimes even 600 animals.

We sterilize some, while others need treatment for injuries. I also provide consultations during these missions, advising people on how to care for their animals, what vaccinations they need, and when. Outside of surgeries, I see up to 80 patients a day. I often help animals with concussions. It’s similar to treating humans—they need rest, care, and medications that relieve pain and symptoms.

— Do you notice how animals are treated in areas close to the combat zone during these trips?

— I encounter a lot of human indifference. Sometimes, for example, animals are left chained up. I understand that in wartime, anything can happen—perhaps the animals’ caretakers were caught in shelling or had to leave quickly. But at least unchain the dog! 

Still, there’s more kindness. 

I’m always struck by the soldiers who bring us cats and dogs. Recently, they brought us a cat named Vasya with fractures of everything that could be broken. He’s currently living at our clinic, receiving treatment, and waiting for his caretaker to return from the frontline.

Soldiers risk their lives, but don’t forget to help the most vulnerable. Then, they call us to check on the animals because they worry about them. 

Sometimes, I think this helps the soldiers themselves, too—it distracts them from the horrors of war by allowing them to focus on helping.

— Over your 42 years in this profession, have you noticed changes in how animals are treated?

— Absolutely! Especially towards stray animals. The attitude used to be very harsh—they could even be shot. Now, there are far more initiatives to control their population humanely. Our organization, Veterinarians Without Borders, was one of the first to implement such a program. Since 2017, we have been catching, sterilizing, vaccinating, and microchipping cats and dogs and then releasing them. We’ve done this in seven regions in the East of Ukraine, and I’ve personally participated in these missions.

— What advice would you give to those who rescue animals near the frontline?

— It’s very simple: safety first. When rescuing animals, you must think about your own life, too. 

I conduct first aid training for volunteers and always urge them to plan everything in advance. You need to be prepared for any unforeseen situation and know how to help an animal in those conditions.

Consider the types of injuries animals might have (gunshot wounds, concussions, fractures) and have all the necessary supplies with you. Also, keep in mind that sometimes animals need to be rescued from water or may flee into mined areas. In such cases, special equipment will be needed. 

This is serious and dangerous work, not just a “photo op.” Even a sincere desire to help isn’t enough. So if you plan to volunteer there, consult with professionals—those who have already worked near the frontline. This will help you avoid mistakes that could cost you your life.

— From your experience, which animals are the hardest to evacuate?

— Evacuating any animal is challenging in its own way. There are frightened, aggressive dogs that need to be unchained first. Sometimes an animal has to be pulled out of a pit before it can be evacuated. 

But in my opinion, the hardest animals to save are those with underlying health issues. Sometimes we find animals with anorexia or starving from hunger. Transporting them is extremely difficult—you must carefully plan the evacuation, ensuring access to oxygen and water.

— Do you have any pets of your own?

— Of course! I treated them myself, too, by the way.

— Розкажіть про них, будь ласка.

— Please tell us about them, please.

— There’s my cat, Harik, a Sphynx who was evacuated from Vuhledar. He’s a large, dignified cat with a stern look but very gentle and well-mannered. 

I also have a wonderful little dog, Tobik. He was hit by a car, and this little guy—a toy terrier—had a pelvic fracture and a prolapsed intestine. There was little hope that we could save him. But Tobik survived, and now he’s such a great friend!

— Lastly, could you share what discourages you in your work and what inspires you?

— Well, what inspires me, of course, is when a difficult surgery ends successfully.

What discourages me… It’s the indifference of people towards animals and nature. 

For example, in 2020, we rescued a bear that an oligarch had “played with” until he got bored. The animal lived in a cramped enclosure. When we saw her, the bear was already paralyzed in her hind legs and was extremely emaciated. We consulted with colleagues from other countries on how to help her and shared her test results. Everyone unanimously said she wouldn’t survive. But we managed to stabilize her enough to place her in Natalia Popova’s Wild Animal Rescue Center. The bear lived there for another two years before passing away just before the full-scale invasion began.

What discourages me now is how all living things are suffering because of Russia. What can I say? If we save the natural world, we save ourselves as well. That’s what I believe.

“Is that a bang,” asks the bearded man sitting in the dugout. “Don’t worry, no one’s going to hurt you… You’ll be safe and warm here.” He is talking to a kitten. You might recognize this scene. The soldier shared the video on his TikTok page, where it has already garnered nearly three million views.

The man in the video is Vitaliy Petrov, a tank platoon commander. Before the full-scale war, he lived in Kyiv, working as a driver—first as an employee and later as an entrepreneur. His family dog, Aiza, stayed behind in the rear. While on the front lines, he found himself caring for a cat, who soon became a social media sensation.

Vitaliy adopted the call sign “Joker,” after the DC Comics villain, who had a companion named Harley Quinn. Fittingly, Joker’s real-life black kitten is named Harley.

At the time of our conversation, Vitaliy’s unit had been holding the same frontline position for five months, with Harley living there for four of those months. 

Joker mentions that Harley “spiced things up” on TikTok, where he now has over 125,000 followers who offer tips on cat care and even send food for her. Our call connects. Joker’s camera shows us his dugout.

— Is the cat with you now?

— Yes, she’s having lunch over there.

— I’ve rewatched that video of you holding her as a kitten about 15 times…

— Yeah, there were some heavy shellings back then. I found her terrified and brought her into the dugout. I talked to her, and she listened so intently—it was unbelievable. Even after the shelling ended, she didn’t leave the dugout for another hour.

— How did she find you?

— When we first arrived at this position, there was a pregnant cat here. One of our unit members is a vet, so he helped deliver the kittens. Once they grew up and started running around, I took a liking to a little black one. That’s how I got her. 

Joked had his Harley, so I named her the same.

Harley has lived with us in the dugout all her life. The other kittens run around outside, and she used to run off with them, too, but now she’s become quite the house cat. 

I feed her, and she eats with the other cats while we leave for work. When we return, the other four cats scurry off, but Harley sits there like she owns the place, totally unbothered.

— How did you manage to tame her when the other cats stayed feral?

— Harley’s a bit of a disaster, to be honest. If there’s wire anywhere, she’ll find a way to get tangled in it. I’ve had to rescue her countless times.

Once, I’d just returned from my post and was resting when a comrade burst in, shouting, “Grab a knife and come with me!” I said, “Why a knife? I’ve got a rifle.” He insisted, “No, grab a knife!” I said, “Let’s do the rifle! Are we going into hand-to-hand combat or what?” He said, “Your silly little thing hanged herself, come quick!” I ran after him, and sure enough, Harley was hanging on the net. She was above the dugout, fell down, and was caught by her neck. I cut her free, she was trembling all over. I took her into my arms, and she calmed down.

I don’t know exactly how I managed to tame her. Maybe she lets herself be touched because I kept finding her and showing her love.

— Does she show you love in return?

— Oh, it’s incredible. Every morning, there’s a whole ritual. When I get ready for work, Harley comes over and starts meowing. She won’t stop until I pet her and let her rub against my face, like giving her a kiss of sorts. She just can’t let me gear up and go to work in peace. She demands attention before she’ll let me go, like, “Fine, you can go, but not for long.” She also goes to the other guys for a pet, but when I lie down to rest, she comes to my bed only.

— What’s a typical day like with her?

— Some days, there’s a ton of work and others, you just get up and monitor the perimeter of your zone of responsibility. There are firefights, fending off attacks. During those times, I don’t lock her away because if I do, she gets even more anxious.

She mostly stays in or around the dugout. Meanwhile, we do our job a little away. Once, I was on my post, and she came to visit. I was shocked. I petted her, but then I took her back because we don’t need that—she could give away our position. 

Orlans [Russian drones] can see everything very well with their cameras. If they see dogs or a bunch of cats, they know there are people nearby. We don’t need to let them know it.

— Does Harley have a favorite spot?

— When I’m lying on the bed, her favorite spot is on my chest, just near my shoulder. She lies down there and goes to sleep.

— How does she react to the shelling?

— She was scared as a kitten, but now, not so much. The only time she gets fussy is when she sees me putting on my armor and grabbing my weapon. She knows I’m leaving, and she shows her displeasure.

— Does she affect your mood?

— Definitely! When I used to be looking for her when she was a kitten, I was beside myself with joy when I found this little ball of happiness. 

During shelling, it was the other way, I’d worry that something could hit her…

— Can she cheer up others?

— Without her, it would be duller. We reminisce with the guys about how we were scrambling under fire to find Harley.

When I couldn’t find her for a week, it really got me down. But then I’d see her mom, and I’d think, “Okay, they must be nearby.” That cheered me up.

Sometimes, we’ll be sitting together with the guys, and Harley will come over, bothering everyone, meowing. Once someone acknowledges her and talks to her, she’s happy. She’ll either curl up somewhere or sit and listen.

— In the videos, you talk to her so sweetly. Don’t your comrades tease you about it?

— At first, they joked, “Did you replace your wife’s attention with that of a cat?” They even called me the “cat dad.” Think what you will, let it be so. But frankly speaking, you can’t endure war without humor.

Veterinarian Andrew Kushnir sits in the lobby of a Kyiv hotel with a huge yellow backpack and several bags. “You never know what to bring to Ukraine; you might need anything,” he shrugs.

Andrew has long lived out of a suitcase. He volunteered at a shelter in India before he even studied to become a veterinarian, and while studying, he herded buffaloes in Zakarpattia during breaks. He spent several months at wildlife centers in Costa Rica. After our meeting in Kyiv, Andrew visited Kherson on a spay/neuter mission and has already returned to the United States to operate on an injured alligator and a snake that swallowed a golf ball.

Andrew travels the world, moving from one project to another. But he visits Ukraine most often, as his family originates from here.

A surgeon in animal shelters; an amateur musician who plays the bandura; a volunteer who sails to African islands to treat the livestock of local residents… And this all describes one person. It’s no wonder I didn’t want to miss the moment when Andrew was still sitting among his packed bags in a Kyiv hotel.

Andrew or Andriy?

We could stay at the hotel, but Andrew is restless: we set off for a café, but the central streets are closed, and the journey along the hilly right bank of the Dnipro in Kyiv takes almost an hour. It seems I grew more tired during this time than he did. We spoke in Ukrainian all the way, and upon arrival, we switched to English.

You’ve just arrived in Kyiv. Where have you been before you came here? 

I was in Lviv at the Home of Rescued Animals shelter, working with the Worldwide Vets organization. We were spaying and neutering dogs and cats, and treating wounds, infections, and doing some surgeries with wildlife.

This is my fifth time in Ukraine.

I see you have a tattoo, where did you get it?

When I was little, my grandmother embroidered a shirt for me. The tattoo reminds me of this. I had it done at the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Lviv.

Can you tell us about your Ukrainian origin?

My father was born outside of Dnipro in a small village called Spaske during World War II. After two years, he and his family were taken to Germany for forced labor. After the war, he lived for 10 years in a refugee camp. Then, after 10 years, he came to the US with his father, mother, and two brothers. I have two sisters and a brother. My mother is American, but she understands some Ukrainian.

We spoke Ukrainian. How is it that you know our language?

When I was little, my parents founded a Ukrainian church in San Diego. There was also a school where we studied the Ukrainian language and culture. The church and school are no longer there.

Do you practice anything related to Ukrainian culture?

I play the bandura. Our family had a friend who was also from Ukraine and played the bandura very well. He was like an uncle to me. He taught me how to play this instrument. We ordered a bandura from Kharkiv, and I started playing at the age of five. I’ve been playing for over 30 years now.

What’s your favorite song?

Dumy Moyi and Shchedryk. I also sing. By the way, I sometimes cook borshch too.

The Nomad Vet 

How did you decide to become a veterinary doctor?

Well, a book. I read a book called Appointment at the Ends of the World, which is the memoir of a wildlife veterinarian. He traveled around the world to very remote places to work with very exotic species. I read the book and thought, wow, that’s incredible; that’s what I want to do in life. 

Ever since I decided to become a veterinarian, I have wanted to work with vulnerable animal populations around the world. I felt that I could make a big difference in not just animals’ lives but also people’s lives by helping those kinds of animal populations. These are animals on the streets and in shelters, but I also work a lot with wildlife—essentially with animals who don’t have anyone advocating for their health. 

I work in different countries in different settings, and I’m always adapting to the situation. So, it’s always new. I’m always learning more and more.

What does your everyday life look like?

It depends on a month. This month, I’m in Ukraine working with shelters. When I go home, I’ll work at wildlife centers in Florida with birds, tigers, dogs, and cats. Then, I’ll go to Uganda to work with chimpanzees for a month to help with health checks and make sure that they are ok and healthy. And then I’ll go back to California for 3 or 4 months just to stay with my family and work with dogs and cats. Then, hopefully, come back to Ukraine to do more spaying and neutering.

I’m self-employed. I do a lot of volunteer work. This whole trip to Ukraine is volunteer work. In fact, I’ve saved money back home to come to Ukraine and work. If I work with organizations, I do get paid, but it depends on the project.

What’s the most unusual place you have been to?

Uganda is a pretty unique place. I go to a chimpanzee sanctuary in Lake Victoria on Ngamba Island every July. Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It’s huge. And there is an island sanctuary where 50 chimpanzees live. Every July, I work with the team to conduct their annual health checks to make sure they are healthy and monitor diseases. This year, when we finish with chimpanzees, I’ll be going to other islands to set up mobile veterinary clinics to help people with their cows and goats, pigs, chickens, dogs, and cats. We’ll take a little boat with people from the chimpanzee island, and we’ll land at different parts of different islands. We’ll set up the tables and all our equipment, and then we’ll invite people with animals to come.

This is the first time I’m doing this – it’s a pilot project. So I wasn’t able to get any donations, but hopefully, after this first trip, I can reach out to different organizations for more funding in the future.  

Do you have memorable cases from there?

Last year, when I traveled to Uganda, I brought a portable dental machine for human teeth. I was able to clean the chimpanzees’ teeth for the first time in their lives, which was really cool. They have the same number of teeth that we have. They were fully asleep.

Do you see differences in attitude towards animals?

I travel around the world, so I see many different perspectives that people have towards animals. And I found that no matter where I go, if people’s lives are good, they tend to treat animals well. When people are poor, they tend to treat the animals poorly. Maybe they don’t know better or just don’t care—they have bigger issues. 

What about Ukraine? 

I wouldn’t say that attitude in Ukraine is worse than in other countries I’ve been to. 

I’ve seen the full spectrum of attitudes towards animals.  When I came here to help, it was with very dedicated people, people who respect, care, and love animals, who put themselves in danger to evacuate animals. I’ve also seen another side when people tie up an animal and leave it. 

Do you have any pets? 

Oh, my dog Henry… I was working at the shelter in California doing surgeries one day, and I was doing my presurgical exam on lots and lots of dogs to make sure they were healthy for surgery and anesthesia. I met Henry that morning. He was scheduled for castration. I fell in love with him. And he’s been living with me for more than five years. He is lazy, emotional. He always looks sad. It’s because he’s a boxer, and it’s just the way their faces are, even if it’s happy – it looks sad. He is very loyal. Like me, he can sleep anywhere.

When I travel to the US, he comes with me. But when I travel to other countries, I leave him with my family.

To Ukraine During the Full-Scale War

After the full-scale war started, how did you come to Ukraine for the first time?

I pretty much stopped everything in my life. I had a full-time job, and I left to come and help where I could. In the second week, I was in Poland working on the Polish-Ukrainian border (Medyka-Shehyni border crossing point), with a tent, with people from IFAW, and we were helping refugees as they crossed into the EU with their animals. For about two months, I stayed at the border. It was really tough listening to the stories from people who had fled from Mariupol, Kherson, and Kharkiv. But I didn’t think about leaving at all. I knew that being able to help Ukrainians at this time was important for me.

Do you have any special memories from that time?

I think that was my third day at the border, midnight. And this woman came into our tent. She came from Mariupol with her mother and a cat. She was worried because her cat hadn’t peed for two days. We had rest cages for the cats, a place where he could hide, and a litter box. We put the cat in the little cage, and he immediately went to the kitty litter and started peeing. And she started crying. Finally, all the stress she’s been holding… She was so happy. I started crying, too. 

We talked. She was saying how she had just left her home in Mariupol, how her house was destroyed, it was hit by a missile. And here is this woman who packed her life in several suitcases, and her biggest concern was her cat not peeing.

The whole reason I was at the border was because there were so many people crossing the border with their animals. They wouldn’t leave their animals behind.

Where did you go after that? 

Then I came to Ukraine and traveled around—to Lviv and Odesa for a few months, and then home for June and July 2022. I came back in August. For three weeks, I was supposed to be volunteering with a couple of veterinarians in Odesa. I worked with exotic animals. That three-week trip became four months. I had to help with the evacuation abroad of lions from Odesa. 

Evacuation of a Lion Pride

The lions got names — Stephania, Lesya, and Taras. I reached out to IFAW and asked them if they could help get permits to transport the lions from Ukraine to Poland and then to the US. Even during a war, the paperwork is complicated to transport big animals like lions, tigers, bears, and leopards. This was October or November of 2022… this was when Russia started to target energy infrastructure, power plants, and there were lots of blackouts. So the office which issued permits wasn’t open. So we couldn’t get the paperwork. Eventually, the Polish government said, “OK, you can bring the lion cubs over. We’ll make it work.” That’s when I traveled from Odesa to Kyiv with the three lion cubs and the two vets I was working with.

We went to Natalia Popova’s Wild Animals Rescue Center. Natalia also had a lion cub who was going to join the three and make one pride. She also had a black leopard cub, six adult lions, and an Asian black bear. All of them were evacuated to Poland. 

We all went together. Natalia had a big transport truck. We put the cubs into crates and put them in the back of the truck. Small cubs were in small cages, and they sat in the front with us. They were small enough, and I was still bottle-feeding them. We drove from Kyiv to Poznan for 36 hours. 

I felt bad for the zoo staff because we showed up with a lot of work, especially with the cubs. Four lion cubs and a leopard cub were eating 4-5 times a day. So I stayed at the zoo for about a month. I lived at the zoo. They gave me a uniform and a golf car. I drove to the cubs, and I fed them. 

After a month, permits came to transport them to the US. Someone from New York very graciously donated a private jet to fly the lion cubs all the way from Warsaw to Chicago.

International airline regulations require each animal to be in a crate. Even though it would have been okay if they were free, we weren’t allowed to, and it’s safer for them to be in a crate. They were up in the cabin with us.

It was probably very stressful for them because they had to be separated from each other, and the plane was very loud.

The whole trip was long – 12 hours. In Chicago, we were met by the Wildcat Sanctuary staff. That’s where the lions are now. We loaded the lions into their truck, and then we drove 6 hours to the sanctuary.

The black leopard stayed in Poznan, and now it lives in France.

I saw a video where your arms were scratched!

They have very, very sharp claws. They tried grabbing and holding my arm as I was holding the bottle. When I shared the video with scratches, I was in transit, so I didn’t have time to go get gloves. But once I got to Poland, I definitely got gloves very quickly. 

Is there any point when you must stop contact?

Yes. The sanctuary where they are now is a zero-touch facility, no one has any contact with them, which is absolutely the best possible way. It keeps people and animals safe. We, humans, have this fantasy that we can pet and touch and cuddle any animal. On social media, people are sharing videos of hugging monkeys, cuddling leopards, and sleeping on tigers.  

Maybe it can be okay. In 90% of cases, there’s no issue hugging a tiger that has lived its whole life in captivity. But that 10% of the time when something goes wrong, that’s when people lose fingers, arms. There are even situations when a lion or a tiger attacks somebody, then this animal usually has to be put down or euthanized because it now has this experience. In reality, it’s just doing what it knows how to do. 

A 20-30-second video takes it out of proportion. It’s not the reality of what it’s like to take care of these animals. These animals don’t make good pets. Once they are adults, they become too large to be able to safely play with. So, often, subsequently, they are put in little cages, where they live the rest of their lives. People often get these animals as pets when they are really young, they are so tiny and so precious. But they don’t stay that way forever. After 6-7 months, they already weigh 60 kg, and even if they are playing, they can hurt you. Most people’s reaction is, “if I can’t play with you, you have to stay in this little yard or cage”.

Does it happen in America too?

It does. It depends on the state. I think we have more tigers in captivity in Texas than there are in the wild.

Each state has different laws regarding private ownership of these types of animals, but we are cracking down and getting better in terms of who can privately own a tiger or a lion and who can legally breed them. New laws are in place, and the effect can be released in several years, but the goal is to have none of these animals in captivity anymore in private ownership.

Animal Shelters in Ukraine and in the US

Do you have any stray animals in America?

Oh yeah. We have a lot of stray cats. And we would have a lot of stray dogs, but we have many shelters. So, if a dog is a stray, very soon, he will go to a shelter. If we didn’t have so many shelters, we would have many more dogs on the streets. 

Are shelters in the United States different from Ukrainian ones?

Some shelters in the US are very nice and well-designed. Most shelters are indoors with access to yards outside. They are built as shelters. Every dog and cat has its own room. It’s possible; it just has to be really big. 

They are in cities, so people are more likely to come and say, “This dog is cute; I’ll adopt it.” 

They have a lot of money and can pay staff. They get donations. An animal shelter in a city will have a contract with the city itself. 

There are many successful animal shelters. They have a whole team of people whose job is to find money for the shelter. They have wealthy donors, and they get them to donate money every year.

The shelter I did my training at saw 90,000 animals that year. They are adopted regularly.

Most animal shelters have at least one full-time veterinarian and a clinic where they do surgeries all the time. It is a big difference from the shelters here in Ukraine. They don’t have their own veterinary staff. Maybe they are run by babushkas. If the shelter has a doctor and a veterinary nurse, the spread of diseases will be stopped faster, and they will treat injuries sooner than when animals have to be taken to clinics. The longer you go without sterilizing the animal, the higher the chance there will be more puppies, and you are creating a bigger problem for yourself.

What are the biggest problems you saw in Ukrainian shelters? 

Probably the biggest challenge at all animal shelters – there are too many animals and not enough resources: not enough food or access to veterinary medicine. An animal that is sick and needs medication twice a day can’t get that treatment because there are not enough people to give the medication to the animal. 

I have seen shelters with way too many animals, and they have no plans to move some of the animals. They just take five dogs from the street and put them with the rest of the population: there’s fighting, biting, and disease. 

What can we do to improve it?

Spay and neuter every animal that comes to a shelter or even every stray animal you can trap. One female dog can have 10 puppies, and then from these you’ll have 100 puppies, of those you can have a thousand puppies. Spaying and neutering reduces the number of stray animals, reduces disease spreading, it’s a public health concern. 

Separation is really important. There should be individual areas for the dogs, for example, ten dogs in this room, ten in that one, which do not mix, and then a plan to reduce the number of animals. 

I know, it’s easier said than done.

Do you see differences between American veterinary care and the Ukrainian system?

I worked with a lot of good veterinarians, very smart, very capable. One of the differences is that in the US, we have more access to the advanced machines which we use, which do exist here. 

We actually have a specialization in the US called “shelter medicine”. There’s no such a specialization in Ukraine. But that type of medical care is very different from a local clinic. In a shelter environment, you have lots and lots of animals with little resources, you have to keep diseases under control.

After I finished vet school, I did one year of a shelter internship. 

Together with the Veterinarians Without Borders organization, you conducted and published a webinar about medical care in Ukrainian 

The key point of the lecture was reducing stress. When animals are stressed, just like us, their immune systems go down and then they are more susceptible to disease. In the shelter environment, where lots of animals are mixing together, disease can spread really quickly. Which is why having separate rooms is important. And reducing noise, not having cats next to dogs.

What do you enjoy the most in your job?

When I work with wild animals, for instance, when an animal comes to me first, it’s injured or sick, and I’m able to fix it, and I get to see it get to the point where it’s healthy and can go back to the wild. Those releases are absolutely my favorite moments. 

The UAnimals volunteer community is celebrating its first anniversary! Today, it boasts over 2,300 members, each contributing uniquely to animal protection. Volunteers assist in shelters, participate in nature clean-ups, evacuate animals from dangerous areas, or distribute food in frontline cities and villages.

Viktoriya Ovsiannikova recently returned from such a trip. She distributed a hundred kilograms of cat and dog food in the Kharkiv region, including in Zolochiv and the villages of Hubarivka and Kalynove, which have been ravaged by shelling. In these cities and villages, residents care for many animals abandoned by their previous owners.

Viktoriya lives in Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv region, where she works as a secretary in a medical institution. Her husband, who initially helped with animal volunteering, joined the Armed Forces this year.

Outside of her work with UAnimals, Viktoriya leads an active animal protection life. Thanks to her and her friend Yuliya Kachkariova, many homeless animals find new families. They also ensure these animals are sterilized, aiming to reduce the number of stray dogs and cats in Bohodukhiv. Viktoriya shared all of this in the interview.

Operation Puppy Rescue and Animal Protection in Bohodukhiv   

I have always felt sorry for stray animals, but what could I do? I would feed them and move on. I lacked the resolve to do more until one particular incident.

In 2019, a video appeared on our community’s social media about a homeless dog in Bohodukhiv that had given birth to ten puppies. The video urged people to adopt them. In our town lives a veterinarian, Yuliya Kachkariova, who had previously given me advice over the phone when my cat was sick. We have kept in touch on social media. Then, we both saw the post about the street dogs at the same time and decided to go see if we could help.

In the meantime, the puppies had become a bit too popular: many people approached them, scaring them into hiding. Yuliya and I spent two months catching them from under concrete slabs and giving them away. It was an entire operation that brought us closer together.

This friendship gave me the strength and support to help animals more actively. Yuliya already had experience finding homes for stray cats and dogs, but now we do it together. We also often temporarily take animals in because there are no shelters in our town.

Yuliya spays and neuters stray dogs and cats for free. We also have a charity account where residents of the Bohodukhiv community can donate money for spaying and neutering or treatment if they want to support stray animals.

Previously, Bohodukhiv residents were wary of sterilization, especially the religious ones. They believed it was a sin. But recently, a local priest had his dog sterilized and told his congregation about it. Since then, their attitude has changed. They say: sterilize your pet and have a clear conscience!

Practically all the stray animals in our town are now sterilized. I believe this has led to fewer aggressive animals in Bohodukhiv. They roam the town peacefully, and no one chases them away. On the contrary, lately, I’ve seen people placing water for the animals in the park and near various businesses. Many people at the market take care of the strays. Attitudes toward animals in Bohodukhiv are changing. I hope that in the future, conflicts between people and animals will be minimal.

Legal Victory  

In June, a person in our community was punished for animal abuse. I spent seven months visiting various authorities to make it happen, and I was the one who reported it to the police.

In a village near Bohodukhiv, there is a man who kept animals but didn’t feed them. We believe he took his dog to the forest, put it in a sack, and abandoned it. The dog chewed through the sack and survived, later found by people. However, there was no direct evidence that the owner did this, although neighbors had long known about his treatment of animals. Later, this same man got a puppy and chained it up. After some time, the puppy died from the cold.

I didn’t know how to proceed. I should have called the investigative team, but a patrol arrived instead. Again, it was impossible to prove that the owner’s actions led to the animal’s death. But I am sure that was the case.

The owner was fined for improper animal care (under Article 154 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Previously, no one in the community dealt with such cases. If someone beat a dog or took it to the forest, people would say, “Well, it’s their dog, they can do whatever they want.” Now, we have a precedent where the owner was punished for such actions.

And now, I know how to act in such cases.

Evacuating Animals from Kharkiv: Combat Parrots and Other Rescues

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, my husband and I transported many animals. When serious shelling began in Kharkiv, it was quiet in our area. We understood that many people would leave Kharkiv, and there would be trouble with animals there. I was subscribed to many Kharkiv groups, and people started posting, “Take our dog” and “Looking for families for our puppies.” We brought animals from Kharkiv to Bohodukhiv and found owners for them. I was most surprised that in difficult times, people were willing to take in animals, some even multiple ones.

On our first trip, such exotic animals were in the car! Five puppies were in two boxes in the trunk. Two cages with parrots were on the back seat, and a guinea pig was in a small carrier. When we approached a checkpoint, the soldiers looked into our car, and my husband said, “Do you need combat parrots?”

The emotions are hard to describe… I remember now with tears in my eyes. It was scary then, but everything worked out thanks to people who were willing to take animals into their families.

Violetta Tohobytska, a doctoral student at the National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine, helped us a lot in Kharkiv. She sheltered many animals. Violetta lives in the Kholodna Hora area (a locality in the western part of Kharkiv). She went to Saltivka (the eastern part of the city), which was heavily shelled and took animals to her place. We met her in Kholodna Hora, took the animals, and transported them further. There were people in Kharkiv who went to dangerous areas to save animals.

Sara the Shepherd Dog

In the early days of the full-scale invasion, when Kharkiv residents were hiding in the subway, a woman called me. She said, “I’m a veterinarian. Yesterday, a dog was brought to me in the subway, and they asked me to euthanize it. Now I’m sitting in the underground with a shepherd dog. Can you find it a home?” It was a generally healthy shepherd dog named Sara. The people said they were leaving and couldn’t take Sara with them, “If you want, we’ll leave her with you, or we’ll inject her with something, and that will be it.” Of course, the doctor refused. These people came back the next day and said they tried to poison the dog, but the poison didn’t work. They just left Sara there and went away.

Sara was 9 years old and, though not ill, had poor eyesight. It was wartime, people were leaving… And here was an old shepherd dog — who would need her?

It was February 26, 2022. People were afraid to go to Kharkiv. Even my husband refused. I found a driver in Bohodukhiv who still went and picked up Sara.

I was worried because she was an adult dog, and I had only dealt with puppies before. But it turned out that Sara was very smart, well-behaved, and calm. We concluded she was a service dog because she knew all the commands.

My friend Olha agreed to take her. She prepared a place in the boiler room with good conditions. But soon, she called and said, “You know, the dog is missing. “How could she get out of the boiler room if you have a door there?” We started searching. The shepherd dog had poor vision, and there was a lot of traffic in the city center! I had already lost hope, but the next day, I saw her at the market. We found Sara.

There were cameras in that room. We reviewed the footage. It was interesting to see how the dog got out. It turned out Sara approached the door, pressed the handle with her paw, and went out.

Olha had taken the shepherd dog temporarily but decided to keep her permanently. So, Sara still lives with her.

To the Shelter with Puppies, But Without the Husband

Over the past two years, we have found homes for about 300 animals. Even I am amazed by these numbers.

At first, I was scared to take in new animals. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, I had five puppies at home. I thought, “If we have to hide quickly, how will I get all the animals to the basement?”

Later, when we experienced explosions, my daughter would be the first to run to the basement with two dogs, followed by me with a box containing the five puppies. Once, I got stuck in the doorway with this box. My husband stood behind me, unable to get out because I was blocking the way. He said, “You see, you saved the animals, but you forgot me here!” There were times when my husband was already in the basement, and I was still running around the house, collecting the puppies.

I am always filled with joy when I find a home for a cat or a dog. If I have helped some living being, I tell myself, “Vika, you didn’t live this day in vain!” I have found my purpose in helping animals. A person can help themselves, but only a person can help an animal. 

On June 5, 2023, at 8 p.m., hydrometeorological center workers measured the water level of the Dnipro River at 532 centimeters (209 inches) above the datum level of the Kherson stream gauging station*. 

This was a normal water level for early June.

Approximately six hours later, the invading troops blew up the dam of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the left bank of the Dnipro. Villages and towns downstream began to flood. 

A year after the dam’s destruction, eyewitness accounts have more or less settled into coherent stories. Just ask, and they flow like the water that burst through the destroyed dam. Witnesses recall the flood: they saved themselves and rescued those who were helpless from the muddy water.

June 6

Natalia from Oleshky 

It was half past four in the morning. I heard my son talking to someone on the phone. Then I heard the sound of him running. I realized something had happened. He came rushing in and said, “Mom, they called from Kherson, they say the Kakhovka HPP has been blown up.” My God!

We were at home in Oleshky. My father was 94 years old. He was immobile, so we couldn’t leave. No one believed this could happen. We decided to move to the second floor of a neighbor’s house. They had left in 2022, and we were looking after their dog, a German shepherd named Archik. So we moved everything there, dismantled my father’s bed. We wrapped him in a sheet, and my son carried him like in a sack while I helped him. That’s how we got to the second floor. And the water was coming in at an incredible rate…

Oksana from Kherson

At five in the morning, my son called from Canada, “Mom, what’s happening? We all know about the explosion.”

At first, the water was rising slowly. First, it was ankle-deep, then knee-deep. People were panicking and didn’t want to leave their homes. No one believed the water would reach the rooftops.

8 a.m. — 660 cm (259 inches) above datum level

Hanna from Mykolaiv 

I remember that morning like it was yesterday. I am a fitness coach, and sometimes people call me even in the middle of the night. So, I decided to take a break and turned off my phone. I woke up to a million calls. What’s going on? A volunteer friend from Kherson called, “Hanna, the flooding has started.” We left for Kherson.

Katia from Kyiv 

In the morning, I was told over the phone that the UAnimals evacuation team was leaving for Kherson in 30 minutes. I threw a warm sweater and a bunch of gadgets into my backpack. I forgot my toothbrush, though.

The situation was new, and no one knew how to handle a boat. Even if we got one, what would we do with it? Everyone was so scared.

Alisiya from Kyiv

People immediately started asking if the Kyiv Animal Rescue Group (KARG) would go to evacuate animals from Kherson. Of course, we decided to go. But we needed an extra boat, chemical protection suits, waders. The whole day was a rush and hustle. We finally left in the evening, the car packed to the brim.

3 p.m. — 796 cm (313 inches) above datum level 

Hanna from Mykolaiv

When it all had just begun, we didn’t see the big flood — perhaps a puddle. We were walking around with an animal catcher, leisurely collecting dogs. Then another driver of mine called me, “Get here immediately!! The entire Ostriv is flooded!”

Our eyes were as big as saucers because we had packed the car full of cages with dogs by then. We started heading in that direction — and realized there was nowhere to go! We were literally floating. In front of us, soldiers in a jeep were cutting through the waves, and we were “rowing” along with them.

I prayed the car wouldn’t stall at that moment. As soon as we made it out, the soldiers ran up to us, “Are you volunteers? Take the animals!” So we added a cat, a tomcat, kittens, and a German shepherd. And that’s how we headed to Mykolaiv.

Natalia from Oleshky

We have the Chaika River flowing nearby. People rushed to the shore to see if the water would reach us. When the river started to overflow, they ran back to their homes.

We had two German shepherds with us: our neighbor’s Archik and our Luna. We had to get them to the second floor as well. They didn’t want to go and were scared. While we were getting them up, Archik bit my husband. It was impossible to go through the door; we set up a ladder and passed the dogs through the balcony. They even jumped from the second floor into the water. Oh, the way we caught them! Archik jumped when the water was knee-deep, and my husband and daughter caught him wading through the water. The next day, Luna jumped, and my son caught her already from a boat.

The russians themselves were in shock, running away! People said many of them drowned.

Two russians floated past us on an inflatable mattress, both with rifles. They moored to a fence, one took a puppy from a yard, ripped off half a slate sheet from the roof, and continued paddling with that piece of slate.

The russians had been taking boats from people, not just before the flood but probably two months before it. So, we dragged our boats behind the houses and hid them using greenhouses. We dumped grass and sand and then covered them with rails. From above — with drones flying around like crazy —  it must have looked like a pile of firewood.

And thank God we did that. When the water was above our knees, we dismantled the rubble and prepared the boats. 

7 p.m. — 867 cm (341 inches) above datum level  

By sunset, the water had already covered the fences.

June 7

7 a.m. — 1025 cm (403 inches) above datum level

Katia from Kyiv

We arrived in Kherson with the UAnimals evacuation team. As soon as you step out of the car, you hear powerful explosions. If you’ve come from Kyiv, the contrast is immediately apparent. It seemed like I could hear an explosion every five minutes.

Alisiya from Kyiv

The first animal we rescued was a little mouse clinging to a bush. It was sitting on a twig in the middle of the water; I took it and handed it to a volunteer. The mouse was weak and needed to be nursed back to health.

A temporary animal shelter was specially opened in Kherson for this mission, where several organizations, including ours, brought animals.

The phone was constantly ringing, people were sending addresses and asking for help. We created a rough plan for the day from these addresses, but finding those places was difficult: house numbers were underwater, the navigator was inaccurate… But we did the most rescuing while looking for those addresses. There was barking from somewhere, meowing from another direction, chickens clucking, roosters crowing, and you couldn’t leave anyone behind!

3 p.m. — 1048 cm above datum level 

Hanna from Mykolaiv

We were heading towards Chaikovskoho Street. We waded knee-deep into the water, but then it got too deep to continue. We started collecting dogs, grabbing them, and putting them in carriers. Then some boys ran up, “Help our friend!” A young man around 20 years old with cerebral palsy came out. He was struggling to walk, falling, and getting back up. He had two German shepherds with him. He cried, not wanting to part with them, but his home was flooding. We took the dogs from him, and he promised to come back for them later. The water kept rising, and we retreated further, rescuing animals from the water.

That day, we saved the most famous dog. Do you remember the photo of a German shepherd hugging the leg of its rescuer? We named her Bahira. We were evacuating Bahira from Kherson.

Photographer — Danylo Pavlov / Reporters

Oksana from Kherson

We went into the water up to our necks, hurting our arms and legs. Whenever a cat or dog surfaced, we pulled them out of the water. There were ordinary people, and we didn’t even ask their names. People were dragging their belongings, volunteers were ferrying elderly people, dogs, chickens, and goats on boats.

Rostyslav from Kherson

I took two young women from the Mykolaiv Animal Protection Center — an animal catcher and a veterinarian — in the boat. We started from Naftohavan. You could float above the fences there: the water was over 5 meters deep, with only the attics sticking out.

Hardly anyone was “cruising around” there: the russians were just 400 meters away. We saw a garage for a truck, and next to it, a dog was drowning. It turned out later that its leg had been broken and healed incorrectly, so it couldn’t swim. We grabbed it by the mane, pulled it out, and began to resuscitate it. It didn’t breathe for 15 minutes. The women never gave up. The dog survived.

June 8

7 a.m. — 1060 cm (417 inches) above datum level

Alisiya from Kyiv

We had already filled our carriers with animals and were heading back to the rendezvous point. Suddenly, a rooster crowed. We looked around and saw a lot of chickens in a tree. Misha climbed up to get them, and at that moment, shelling started. The place where we would have reached in a minute was peppered with shrapnel. Thus, it turned out that the rooster saved us.

We found a hiding place for a while. We sat there and saw a boat floating by without people… What had happened there?

Then we continued with the chickens, but there were too many — about 20. There was no room for them in the boat. We found an empty plastic barrel floating in the yard and filled it with chickens. We went back like this: a motorboat, towing a rubber boat, and tied to that, a barrel full of chickens.

It was easy to go out on the water for the first couple of days, but then the shelling started. The police and the military commander began prohibiting it… One would allow it, another would not. We spent a lot of time getting permissions.

Rostyslav from Kherson

We were rescuing animals in Zymivnyk. There were many drowned dogs because people had left them chained up.

In one barn, kittens were floating under the roof. The barn was barred, so they couldn’t get out. We broke the roof and got them out. We named one kitten Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and the other remained nameless.

We also transported a goat named Torpedo by boat. We called her that because she was fast and kept running away from us. She somehow got to the second floor of a house, onto a veranda; we barely managed to catch her.

And then there was such a touching reunion between this goat and her owner! The woman stood beyond a checkpoint, and we brought the goat. She shouted, “Zorya, Zorya!” The goat replied, “Meh-eh-eh!” and ran to her owner, who ran to the goat. Such a reunion!

Hanna from Mykolaiv

The third day was the worst. We were rescuing animals in Naftohavan. They were covered in mazut and dirt, and everything smelled awful.

I was amazed at how our people came together. I had never seen volunteers help each other like this. It was probably the only day in the history of animal protection organizations where they were stealing animals from each other. I barely managed to get a dog out of the water before the carrier with it disappeared. I said, “People, you can’t do this!”

I was wearing summer shorts and a T-shirt, and that’s how I swam. But that day, people from Odesa gave us an expensive yacht, and from then on, we rescued animals on that boat.

We sailed around Ostriv, scraping the bottom against everything: you couldn’t see where you were! We would reach a fence, climb onto it, and then climb onto the roofs. That’s where we caught the animals.

We saved a dog I remember the most. I climbed onto the roof and fell through. My friend Yulia went ahead and said, “Here’s a dog standing on a board in a straight line, its paws bleeding.” The dog wanted to live so much that it stood on that plank for who knows how long.

As soon as we got the dog to shore, a woman took it in and is still happy with it. Imagine, people from shelters were not the only ones waiting on the shore; there were also people taking animals for themselves.

Once, I received an address: 24 Dorofeyeva Str. — 12 dogs, 20 cats. We sailed there, scraping this yacht, and a woman from the window said, “I told you, I won’t go anywhere without my animals!” I consider people who acted like this Anya heroes. We evacuated her with her cats and dogs.

Oksana from Kherson

I posted the first photos on Facebook, and people started reaching out to me. They said they would take the animals. So I started bringing the rescued animals to my garage, my apartment, my son’s apartment, and the apartment of my neighbor who had left. At one point, I had 80 cats at once — wet, dirty, scared. We rescued these cats, let them out, fed them, and went back again. And so it went until nightfall. There wasn’t even time to drink water!

June 9

7 a.m. — 1035 cm (407 inches) above datum level

Natalia from Oleshky

The water started to recede. By 11 a.m., we saw the first step and decided that we wouldn’t get another chance if we didn’t leave before the invaders recovered.

We got into the boat, loaded the dogs. I shouted, “Pray! Pray in any way you can!”

As we passed our house (crying), we could only see the roof. It was very painful.

We reached the river, and there… It was like an ocean! I had never seen so much water before. Believe me, was terrifying.

You could see the entire city of Kherson. Both my son and husband worked as captains, so they knew the area. We reached Dachi. Thankfully, it was our guys, our soldiers, who met us.

Archik, the dog, my father, my son, and my eldest grandson stayed in our boat and were brought separately. We took Luna, our German shepherd, and got into another boat with the soldiers, who brought us to Kherson.

3 p.m. — 1011 cm (398 inches) above datum level  

Katia from Kyiv

We got caught on an electric wire, and our boat started to sink.

Anything could be underwater. If it was an industrial area, there could be a train, and you wouldn’t know.

A man passing by saved us. He said, “I can’t come closer because I’ll get caught, and we’ll both go down to the bottom.” But he still approached and cut the wire. He mentioned that two soldiers had recently been dragged under a barge and died. No one was safe there.

June 11, 3 p.m. — 900 cm (354 inches) above datum level

June 12–18: A week after the explosion

Alisiya from Kyiv

We worked in Kherson for about two weeks. We were wet the entire time. We were constantly in the water; our clothes barely dried overnight. The water was disgusting, full of dead bodies. Then the rains started. You’d come out of the water only to be drenched by the rain. Vadym and Misha would get into their wetsuits in the morning and keep them on until night.

Once, we had to make a choice. Two dogs were sitting on a pile of debris, not coming into contact with anyone. We needed to catch them with a noose, but we only had one. We understood that while catching one dog, the other would escape. We chose the dog missing part of its paw. The other ran off across the boards and debris. The rescued dog is still looking for a home. After the initial hype wave, the interest in these animals faded.

Katia from Kyiv

I decided to make a film from the footage we shot. It was supposed to show only what I saw. I wanted these images not to be forgotten. I think few people can imagine what really happened there.

When I arrived in Kherson, I realized how hard it was to live there. It looked like hell, honestly. In such conditions, you revert to basic needs: where to get water, food… And people are united around one goal — survival.

Some people stay in Kherson to feed stray animals. I know an old woman, Tetiana. She says, “The animals wait for me every day at two. And I must go feed them.”

June 20. When the Water Receded

3 p.m. — 560 cm (220 inches) above datum level 

From the Hydrometeorological Center report: as of June 23, the water level has stabilized at values characteristic of the Dnipro River’s hydrologic regime.

Oksana from Kherson

When the water receded, everything was in a terrible condition. The stench was unbearable! Many animals had died. People were carrying everything out of their apartments; there were heaps of trash everywhere. All those refrigerators, washing machines — everything was ruined and useless. On top of that, there was shelling. The heat was unbearable, and we were delivering humanitarian aid and animal feed in bulletproof vests.

Natalia from Oleshky

We kept the neighbor’s German shepherd until volunteers sent Archik to Poland to his owner. We also had to give away Luna because we had to move to an apartment in Mykolaiv. We didn’t leave until we found her a place. She now lives in the Mykolaiv region with a man who has a house and garden. He sends us videos showing how she’s doing.

Hanna from Mykolaiv

For me, Bahira symbolizes this tragedy. My friend Liudmila Melnykova from the Moyi Zhyvi Sobaky (My Living Dogs) Odesa shelter took care of her for a long time. Bahira was not young and had to spend two days in the water. She could barely walk. We hired a rehabilitation professional who worked with her daily.

She couldn’t tolerate other dogs or cats. She only loved people. It was tough to find her a home. We searched for a year—a whole year! The whole world knew about her; everyone asked, but no one took her.

Only in February did I take her to the parents of a friend. She doesn’t leave her owner’s side now. She just loves people so much.

Oksana from Kherson

I kept several cats; I couldn’t part with them. Now, I have nine cats. And 28 outside. I know all of them!

They come every morning. I feed both cats and dogs. Every evening, I cook two 5-liter pots of porridge. I give one to my neighbor, Aunt Tania. She distributes food to the animals but is afraid of the shelling; she always asks if there’s an alert or if it’s over. I say, “All clear,” — and she is already running with those buckets.

Oksana looks into a cage with a kitten

Natalia from Oleshky

People usually sympathize, but some say, “Well, we were also under shelling, so what?” The scariest thing was hearing people cry, “Help!” at night — almost the whole night. Even talking about it now gives me chills.

This has become a part of us.

***

Told by: 

Hanna Kurkurina — powerlifter, athlete, animal rescue volunteer, living in Mykolaiv. 

Natalia —  a resident of Oleshky, formerly a telephone operator, now living in Mykolaiv.

Alisiya Polykha — animal rescuer with KARG (Kyiv Animal Rescue Group). Accompanied by Mariya, Mykhailo, and Vadym. 

Rostyslav Kulyk — volunteer with the Strong Because Free organization, owner of a pit bull and three cats from Kherson.

Oksana Synenko — medical worker, volunteer, and animal rights advocate, living in Kherson.

Katia Krokha — documentary filmmaker, videographer for UAnimals, living in Kyiv. 

Interviews by Nataliya Pendiur — 508 cm (200 inches) above the datum level of the Kyiv stream gauging station.

This publication was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.

Hydrological levels at the Kherson stream gauging station were provided by the Hydrological Forecast Department of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.

Main photo: Associated Press. Other photos provided by the interviewees and KARG, unless otherwise stated in the caption to a photo.

Careful observations of animal behaviour, searching for locations for their safe movement and charity art exhibitions to help shelters — all this is done by students of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in their projects. We got acquainted with several teenagers to ask them about their animal protection ideas and research.

So, together with the JASU, we present the young authors of scientific and social projects who make this world a more humane place.

Both elk and crab have to cross the road

Yehor Basatskyi likes to play basketball and learn languages — English and German. He studies at Liko School in Kyiv.

Last year, Yegor received an honorary award at the international school project competition on ecology GENIUS Olympiad Ukraine. The boy researched where ecoducts could be built on the future Kyiv Bypass Road. He will tell you what it is and why it’s important.

An ecoduct is a bridge over the road or a tunnel under it. It is built so that animals can safely cross the road. Ecoducts save both animals and people from accidents.

For example, if there is a pond on one side of the road, and an animal lives on the other side, it has to get to the water somehow. With an ecoduct, it won’t have to cross the road in front of cars. And also, sometimes an animal lives in one part of the forest, and there is prey in another. People have built a road and blocked the animal’s usual route. Ecoducts are built so that animals can move through this obstacle.

When I started working on the project for the Junior Academy, I didn’t even know what ecoducts were. Then I delved into the topic and found out that many of them were built both in America and Europe. I went on a trip and started noticing ecoducts: I saw bridges for large animals in Poland and Austria. In fact, there are also tunnels, but they are just harder to notice.

Ecoducts are built not only for large animals like deer and wild boars but also for turtles and crabs. On Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, there is an unusual bridge for crabs. Every year, millions of these animals simultaneously head from the centre of the island to the ocean to mate. Special tunnels were built for them, and where it wasn’t possible to make a tunnel, they built a rectangular bridge 5 metres high. Its “road surface” is a mesh that crabs can easily cling to with their legs. Moreover, in Japan, there is a passage for turtles under the railroad. And the most interesting thing for me was to learn that in Asia and South America there are ecoducts for monkeys: these are ropes above the road, hanging like lianas, so that monkeys can move from one part of the forest to another.

Both near Kyiv and in Polissia, we have deer, wolves, foxes and roe deer. And even for small animals like hares, for example, ecoducts can be built.

My project was related to the Kyiv Bypass Road. I looked at where it should pass: where the forests were, where the water bodies were. I learned about the surrounding reserves and the animals living there. I also received statistics on accidents with animals in Ukraine. I thought about how the road could interfere with the routes of animals. So, where the highways divide the animal habitats, I suggested building ecoducts. For example, near Bucha, the road should pass through the forest. In one part of it, there is a pond on the Bucha River. An ecoduct can be built there so that elks, deer, roe deer or wild boars can safely reach the water.

How do predators feel in the zoo?

Sofiia loves animals very much and can easily find common ground with them. She has a cat, 4 guinea pigs, 5 rats and 4 mice.

In her research paper for the Junior Academy of Sciences, she studied how the number of zoo visitors affected the behaviour of lions and tigers living in captivity. Sofiia took second place at the All-Ukrainian Contest for the Defence of Scientific Research Projects of the JASU in the Zoology section in 2023.

Disclaimer from UAnimals media: we are against capturing animals from the wild to keep them in zoos. However, we appreciate Sofiia’s research: it’s important to care for those animals that are already in captivity and take into account their needs for solitude and interaction.

I’ve always enjoyed communicating with animals, so I joined a group of young naturalists. It was there that I decided to write a research paper. I wanted to study the behaviour of tigers and lions because they are very intelligent animals.

My research supervisor and I were thinking about the most useful topic. We settled on researching how the number of visitors to the zoo affected the animals. It was important to me that tigers and lions in captivity could feel as comfortable as possible.

The lions I observed at the Kyiv Zoo were Hercules, Liliia, Khrystyna and Daryna, and the tigers were Rena, Maliuk and Amba. I came two to three times a week and observed from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. It was crucial to stick to the schedule because animals behave differently throughout the day. If I had observed them at different times, it could have affected the results.

The weather, of course, also affects the activity of tigers and lions. They hide when it rains or when it’s too hot. So I selected observations when the weather was approximately the same. These were sunny days in May and June.

I had an ordinary notebook in my hands. Every 5 minutes, I stood near the enclosure and recorded what the tiger or lion was doing. The enclosures at the Kyiv Zoo are arranged in a circle, so I had to run very quickly from one animal to another. It was difficult at first, but then I got used to it. For example, at 3:00 pm I observed lions, at 3:01 pm — a tiger, at 3:02 pm — another tiger, at 3:03 pm — one more, and then lions again. Towards the end of the research, the tigers started to recognise me.

At first, I wrote down what the specific animal was doing because I didn’t know their behavioural patterns. Then I summarised the records and divided the behaviour into such patterns: inactive — when the animal sleeps or lies down; comfort behaviour — for example, a tiger licking its fur; interaction — a tiger looks into the visitor’s eyes, shows interest, may meow; feeding; movement; exploratory behaviour — can sniff something, touch it with a paw; marking — the animal leaves its scents in various places of the enclosure; social — tigers and lions can vocalize or interact with each other in another way.

When there were no people around, the animals spent time inside the enclosures — in the part of the structure invisible to visitors. They also hid when there were too many people. According to my observations, they felt most comfortable on weekdays, when the number of visitors was average. Then lions and tigers showed the most comfortable and exploratory behaviour.

Artistically helping a dog shelter

Tetiana is studying architecture at the Sumy College of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

In 2022, she joined the Agents of Change civic engagement school. This is one of the areas of work of the Junior Academy of Sciences. Here, teenagers who implement their own projects to make the country and society better are called agents of change. At this school, Tetiana created the Paws in Palms project — she exhibited and sold her paintings to help a dog shelter.

When I applied to the Agents of Change School, I already knew that my project would definitely be related to animals. A year before, I had got a dog — a Shar Pei named Bucks. During the year, he got sick a lot. And when the war began, I thought about the following: we help him because he has us. But some animals have no one. I really wanted to help them.

So I organised a charity exhibition at the branch of the city library. I just needed help finding contacts and then hanging the paintings. And everything else was done by myself.

Most of the paintings at the exhibition were mine, but some were provided by friends. There were still lifes, landscapes and animals. I love working with oil paints the most, so the paintings were painted in oil.

We sold 8 works at the exhibition. The most expensive one was a painting by my friend Mariia Kadurina called ‘Venice during the holiday.’ It’s a bright, large, very positive painting.

Among the sold works was mine, with birches — my mom’s favourite painting. Of course, it was hard to give it away. But when I arrived at the shelter, I realised I was ready to give away all my paintings for this. It was incredible! Firstly, the understanding that I was helping. And secondly, these paintings would be kept somewhere on the balcony, but this way they brought joy to people.

At that time, I helped the True Friend public organisation shelter. It’s a small shelter for dogs. With the money collected from the paintings, my mom and I bought cereals, bowls, leashes, collars — various items at the request of the staff.

Honestly, before I got a dog, I hadn’t been interested in stray animals at all. While I was working on the project, I visited the shelter for the first time.

The dogs there are very friendly! They run around both in their enclosures and outside. Several dogs greeted us right away. They were so cheerful — jumping, playing, everything was interesting to them. It was cool.

And it was sad too… The girls who work there told us where these dogs had come from. I even cried because it touched me deeply.

In the future, I want to design a shelter and a clinic for animals. I hope I can bring this idea to life as soon as possible.”

It’s heartening that young Ukrainian scientists and activists are concerned about the fate of animals and the environment. 

Photos: Kyiv Zoo, Parks Australia (Commonwealth of Australia), Mongabay, All That’s Interesting

If you meet them “on a volunteer assignment” and want to say hello, they probably won’t shake your hand. Not because they’re unfriendly — quite the opposite, their hands are usually full with firewood, boards, tools or leashes for walking dogs. And their faces show both tiredness and satisfaction. It’s a mix of feelings after work that fills them up.

My conversation partners are from the UAnimals volunteer community. Here’s how it works: people from any city or village in Ukraine register in a Telegram bot that offers various tasks in the field of animal protection. Volunteers choose which of them they are interested in and agree to participate. You can distribute animal food to those in need, help in shelters, clean up parks or plant seedlings. Curator Anastasiia Kovalchuk helps with the details. Currently, there are over 1500 volunteers in the community, spread across all regions of Ukraine.

An actress? A designer? A mechanic? A top manager? Even the prime minister or the first lady! Anyone who shares UAnimals’ values of humane treatment of animals can join the community. I talked to volunteers from four regions. Let’s get to know:

• Liza from Zaporizhzhia, working in advertising and marketing;
• Nataliia from Mykolaiv, branch manager of an energy company;
• Vika from Bohodukhiv in Kharkiv region, a secretary in a medical institution;
• Mariia from Kyiv, a stylist and makeup artist;
• Anzhelika from Kyiv, a photo editor;
• Ivan from Kyiv, a top manager in a technical company;
• Anhelina from Mykolaiv and Kyiv, studying journalism and acting in theatre.

“We asked for something to do ourselves”: about the tasks in the UAnimals volunteer community

Vika with her friend Yuliia, a veterinarian

Vika: I travelled with humanitarian aid across the Kharkiv region — distributing food for cats and dogs. I was in Zolochiv, Chornohlazivka and then in my town, Bohodukhiv. In Zolochiv, a local volunteer Nastia Nechaieva helped me organise everything. We had 200 kilograms of food. At first, I thought I would have to spend the whole day walking around and offering it to people in their yards. But when Nastia called people from the market, and when we saw this crowd, we were shocked. People with many animals approached — seven dogs and nine cats each. It took us 20 minutes to distribute all of this!

Liza with her friend volunteering

Liza: I also distributed food several times. Back then, it was relatively calm towards Komyshuvakha, so I drove there by car. I visited villages such as Shchaslyve, Kushchove, Novoivanivka, Yasna Poliana, Hryhorivka and Zhovtenke. They sent me 100 kilograms of food per trip. My friend Daria and I distributed it all, weighing and packing it ourselves, one kilo per dog or cat. And we went together, as it was more convenient: one of us would pick up the food, while the other one would talk to the locals.

On our first trip, we were worried, especially when passing through checkpoints: we had to explain in detail why and where we were going, and all our answers were recorded. Then we got used to it a bit. The last two trips were to Hryhorivka and Zhovtenke, where there are difficulties with food, and people find it hard to go to the city. We were driving down the streets, if we saw a person, we called out and asked. Every family that has stayed there has many animals: from three dogs and sometimes to ten cats. People take care of the animals of their neighbours, who have left, and also pick up and feed the stray ones. Moreover, many animals were brought there from Orikhiv. So the food was gone very quickly.

Nataliia and her dog Dana

Nataliia: Well, what can I say: I handed out food under the rockets and drove off! I started driving in the summer and still regularly go to the frontline villages: Prybuzke, Lyman, Dmytrivka. I went to Ochakiv and also to the village of Kutsurub: there is a constant artillery shelling there, as the russians are just 5 kilometres away, on the Kinburn Spit. They even reach there with tanks.

When I went for the first time, I just handed out food to people on the streets. But then I got to know a military volunteer. It was she who already showed me where the pensioners lived, and we brought food directly to their homes.

Those villages that were right on the front line are destroyed — every house is shattered. During the fights, there was nobody there, and now people are returning, rebuilding whatever they can… It’s emotionally tough to see the ruins and hear tragic stories, but if not us, then who?

Ivan is a top manager on weekdays and a volunteer on weekends

Ivan: We take on every task. With Mariia, Anhelina and Anzhelika, we often meet for clean-ups, repairs or walking dogs in shelters. On our last trip, we visited Rifugio shelter. They gave us a tour and told us how the animals lived and how they were fed. It was more of a relaxed visit to feed the animals and pet them. But we asked for something to do ourselves because we’re volunteers. So we moved some firewood a little, dragged some boards, fed goats and horses — everyone brought some treats.

Personally, it’s not so important for me what exactly to do in the shelter, the main thing is that we’re getting involved in the process. Once, I went to the shelter to help with cleaning. I was 15 minutes late, and everyone was already busy cleaning, so they just let me walk the dogs. And this is very important work! When there are 300 dogs in the shelter and they are walked only once every three days, they really need it. I’m up for any task: feeding, pouring water for stray animals. In our community, we don’t pick and choose: “I’ll do this, I won’t do that.”

Liza: There are many directions in animal protection. You can financially support shelters. You can walk animals in shelters. In Zaporizhzhia, there’s a vet clinic that temporarily houses stray animals. So, for example, you can go there and walk the dogs. An important direction is to teach children how to communicate with animals, to explain that they are also living beings who feel. And the easiest way is to take a bag of food and feed stray animals. Anyone can do that.

“Filling up when giving love”: why volunteer?

Mariia: It motivates and uplifts the mood, especially when you manage to do something at the shelter. Usually, there’s a pleasant atmosphere, and interesting people gather there. It’s more about satisfaction.

Anhelina: Satisfaction from being needed.

Anzhelika: I even selfishly enjoy the fact that on weekends, you can go to the shelter — actually to nature, where there’s some physical work. I get a kick out of it. I especially love walking dogs because I can’t have my own one yet.

Ivan: For me, it’s also a kind of relaxation. I had a vacation a week ago. I spent three days of it in shelters. In Zoopatrul, Patron and Rifugio. I look at my photos — and after volunteering, my eyes always shine. No matter how hard it may seem, it always gives energy.

Ivan at Rifugio

Anhelina: When you go on a volunteer assignment, you have a goal. When you achieve it, you come back home like, “Wow…”. You fill up. You fill up when you touch happy animals, when you help animals that have suffered from war or people, and when you give love. And it doesn’t matter whether you give this love to people or animals.

Once I took photos of Ryzhyk at the shelter. He’s probably the most photogenic cat in the world. He was really like a supermodel: lifting his paws, turning his face to the camera, making different expressions… I posted everything on Instagram, and after a while, I saw that someone liked his photos, and now he has a home. It’s at moments like these that you understand what it’s all for.

“Guys, be quiet, you’ll wake up the bat”: most memorable moments

Vika: My husband and I rescued animals from Kharkiv when there was heavy shelling. Sometimes from Oleksiivka, sometimes from Saltivka… We had guinea pigs and parrots. And when people were ready to take in the animals, we took them to Krasnyi Kut, Merefa, even to Krasnohrad… I was ready to go anywhere so that the animals could have a family. When I remember all this, tears come to my eyes.

I was surprised by the fact that people were ready to take in animals. It never happened that puppies stayed with us for more than two months. In 2022, since the start of the full-scale war, about 300 animals were given away.

Mariia: I have a vivid memory from my childhood: when I was around 13 years old, I pulled puppies out of a trash bin. My mom and I heard something whimpering, so we went to see. It turned out blind puppies were lying in that bin, and they weren’t easy to reach. So I had to climb in there. I’m still proud that I wasn’t afraid. We took them home, raised them, and our neighbour gave them away later.

Anzhelika: When I was little, my mom and I found a pigeon with a wounded wing and nursed it back to health. When we saw that it wanted to be free, we took it back to where we found it. And it flew away. I cried for three days because I got so attached to it.

Ivan: I remember my birthday a few years ago. It was December 28th. I go out onto the balcony, and I hear something like crackling. I lift the blanket — and there’s a bat. They were supposed to be asleep already. It somehow got onto the balcony, fell onto the blanket and woke up. I called the organisation that dealt with bats, and they told me: take it in a box, cover it with a net, put it in the fridge — and it will fall asleep there. So I did. The window washers came to clean my windows, they were banging. I told them, “Guys, be quiet, you’ll wake up the bat.” And these big guys, “Show us!” And there it was, sleeping in the box with only its paw sticking out. So the bat lived in my fridge until spring.

Anhelina: I remember Sara, a yard dog who lives at Patron. I used to walk her. Sara has no front legs, but she tries to walk. She’s a dog with such strong willpower, with a thirst for life. She trusts people, makes contact and keeps on living. Sara gives me strength, motivation and inspiration.

Inhabitant of the fridge

Sereda, Piatnytsia, Marharyn, and others: who live with volunteers at home

Liza: Right now, I have a cat in foster care. And there’s Luna, a dog. Four years ago, I found 11 puppies near an abandoned house. My friends and I treated and sterilized them. I kept Luna for myself.

Nataliia: Cats Barsik, Snizhok, Niusha, Tolstyi, Sonia. I also have a dog. Someone found her in a dumpster and was trying to find her a home. The puppy was scared and wouldn’t come to anyone. It turned out she had been bitten by a dog. In the clinic, they said, another day or two, and this puppy would have died. So now, I have a dog Dana, and they are friends with the cat Tolstyi.

Vika: In the Kharkiv group, there was a video of five puppies found in the central market. There was a little black one among them. I looked at him and thought: that’s it, he’s mine. Now he’s my dog Lumi. People don’t even believe he’s not purebred. He grew up so beautiful, it’s like a bonus for my volunteering.

I also have Zhulia, who gave birth to 10 puppies: the little ones were given away, and I took the dog. And moreover, two cats — Markusha and Bonia, both of them were found.

Zhulia is gentle, but very timid. She only bonded with me. And Lumi is very sociable, full of energy and emotions. He’s like a copy of me!

I rescued Bonia from the dumpster. And Markusha, whom my child found in a box near the pond — he’s just the cat of my dreams. Black mask, black ears, and beige himself. No one believes he’s a rescue.

Anzhelika: I have three cats: Sereda, Piatnytsia and Marharyn. The former ones are female and male cats from the same shelter with a year’s difference. The female cat wasn’t very sociable. When she got used to us, we went back to the shelter and got her. And we took the latter male cat last year. Piatnytsia [ed.: ‘Friday’ in Ukrainian] and Sereda [ed.: ‘Wednesday’ in Ukrainian] are named after the days we got them from the shelter. And Marharyn [ed.: from ‘Margarine’] is a boy, we associated him with something soft and chubby.

Ivan: I have one cat, Filia. She’s purebred — and she stands out. And with such a character, that one is enough for me!

“You should help people instead”: about other people’s attitude to animal volunteering

Ivan: I’m often asked: why do you do this, spend time and resources? Not everyone understands how instead of lying down on Saturday, you can get up and go to work.

Anzhelika: My friends support me in volunteering: I collected things for insulating enclosures, and my friends practically collected everything I needed.

Liza: People used to say, “Oh, you should help people instead.” Those who say that don’t help people either. It’s just idle talk. 

Nevertheless, people are mostly inspired when they see someone caring. Once I found kittens, posted them on Instagram, and my friends took them. Although they used to say “no animals.”

Nataliia: My husband supports me in animal volunteering, sometimes he went with me to distribute food. Of course, he wasn’t very happy that I kept bringing cats home one after another, but he got used to it. My daughter is an adult. When I had to feed the little kittens, we did it as a family: my daughter came, and my mother came too. It was like with little children. My family is with me in this, I’m not alone.

Who said ‘no animals’? The feathered patrol flies out to convince: no rescued animals are ever enough! That’s why UAnimals always have rescue projects — please support them.

Ivan: When new people come to shelters, it’s a responsibility. If you come, it’s important to know how to handle animals or at least listen to those around you. During dog walks, people sometimes go just wherever they want. When they meet other dogs, they start fighting. Or the dog runs away, and they don’t know what to do. Volunteering is cool, but you have to have common sense and responsibility. Of course, I invite everyone and try to get them involved, but it’s not just for fun or karma points. Once you come to a shelter, you have to be responsible for your actions.

“One post — and five people have already done something”: why talk about volunteering

Ivan: I invited a friend to the shelter in Makariv, and she asked me to make a post about it. She said: the more you show people how they can help, the more people might start doing it. You might not even know about it, but someone might think about it, someone might feed, someone might donate… I made this post just for her. And afterwards, three of my friends asked to join my next volunteering session, and two asked for the details on where to donate. One post — and five people have already done something. And those are just the ones I know. I used to think that good deeds, as they say, are done in silence. But now I’ve changed my mind: you need to tell, post and involve other people.

Anhelina: That’s how it was for me with Patron. I went there to help clean up. And I was so inspired by this shelter that I launched my collection for them. I raised funds and bought what was needed at that moment: medicines, cleaning supplies… When I came there, the owner took photos of me with those bags and posted it. She believed it was worth it. Please, show that you are volunteering. In this way, you inspire other people.

Mariia: None of my friends were involved in animal volunteering. But when I started posting stories from shelters, my friends started writing, “Oh, cool, let’s go together.” Not everyone imagines what needs to be done, and how it goes. Maybe they couldn’t dare because they didn’t know what exactly would happen there. And if a familiar person has already done it, it’s easier. Many of my friends wanted to join. When you volunteer, it’s important to talk about it.

Vuhlyk is a shelter for domestic animals and pets with branches in Kherson, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions. Its history began in the Lviv region, but a thousand kilometres to the east, the founder of the shelter, Oleksandra Havryliuk-Levytska, found large areas for grazing domestic animals. And also people who were sympathetic and supportive of her work. And a lot of sun.

 Because of the war, Oleksandra and her family had to leave their new home in the Kherson region. They moved by several cars — along with chickens, sick dogs and cats. However, Vuhlyk’s branches in eastern Ukraine are still operating.

Oleksandra Havryliuk-Levytska told UAnimals media how she managed to create a network of centres, resuming the work literally from scratch, how the Kherson shelter lives under occupation, and what lies ahead for Vuhlyk.

About children, animals and sterility 

As a child, I dreamed of a horse and a dog, but my parents did not support the idea of taking care of pets. They cared more about the cleanliness of the house, even to the point of sterility. Now I can understand my parents’ position: the four of us lived in a small apartment in Truskavets, my parents were constantly working, and the pets would have to be taken care of. 

A child cannot take responsibility for caring for animals. Now, I can’t tell my daughter either: “You have a pet — take care of him: clean, cook, walk him.” 

But I believe that any child can benefit from having animals at home. This is confirmed by many studies by the World Health Organisation. Children who grow up with animals have fewer health problems, such as allergies. Their immune system is stronger and their mental health is more stable.

These studies have been published recently — they didn’t exist back in my childhood. Instead, it was believed that everything had to be disinfected for kids, and that any animal brought dirt. I was reminded to wash my hands ten times a day. I had numerous food poisonings because in such sterile conditions the body could not develop immunity to certain pathogens.

However, my child has “eaten” enough dirt. Sometimes she spends half a day hanging out with chickens, hugging and kissing them. She loves chickens.

Physically, my daughter is as healthy as possible. However, she has an autism spectrum disorder, so communication with animals is very useful for her. When the weather is good, we go to shelters, and I let my daughter sit on the horses’ backs. I am against horse riding, but a child weighing 20 kilograms will not harm a physically healthy horse. 

I let my daughter communicate with animals to her heart’s content. These are my dreams that have come true. 

We have about 40 cats — some are blind, some are sick, and some are very old. There is also an old-timer dog, Bobchik. He was already old when we were given him, and more than 10 years have passed since then, so I’m even afraid to think how old he is now. And there is a dog called Babuletka, also very old. She has demodicosis, so we treat and care for her ourselves. 

Most of the rescued cats and dogs live in Vuhlyk, and I only take home those who will not survive in the shelter.

About the first rescued ones — Roger and… Vuhlyk

In my third year at the institute, I was involved in sports. One day, I went to buy a suit for a competition and, on my way, I met a boy in an underpass selling a puppy. It was a pit bull terrier that no one wanted to take because it was born the biggest among his siblings. People were afraid that the dog would grow up to be too aggressive. Of course, I didn’t buy a suit, but gave the money to that guy and took the dog. It was my first dog, Roger.

Because of Roger, I had a lot of conflicts with my parents. They had their plans for my future: they wanted me to go abroad and settle down there. It was hard to do with a dog. So they asked me to give the dog away, to find “other hands” for him. 

Because of that situation, I didn’t talk to my parents for almost a month: when they gave me an ultimatum, I said I wouldn’t betray my pet. We stayed together where we were.

As for the first animal rescue, it was a kitten. I found him more than 15 years ago. Back then, I had just started dating my husband, and one evening we were walking the dogs and heard loud meows. My husband ran to the basement and pulled a small black cat out from under the bricks. We named him Vuhlyk. 

On creating a shelter, conflicts and fire

I have always wanted to save animals, but I’ve also realised what a great responsibility it is. In Truskavets, my husband and I were constantly in conflict with our neighbours because we kept three pit bulls. Although even my parents were joking: “These dogs would rather lick someone senseless rather than bite them.” 

When we started taking in stray animals, we had to move to the village. For this purpose, in 2009, we bought an old, inexpensive house in the village of Brodky and started renovating it.

I thought that on my own rural plot, I would be able to minimise conflicts with people, but it turned out to be not so easy. The villagers had their own ideas about how we should live. And some of the neighbours used to say about us: “When will they burn down?” 

And so, on January 8, 2018, a fire really happened in our house with the rescued animals. At five in the morning, the neighbours from across the street knocked on our door, shouting that our first floor was on fire. We could not rescue our cats from there. But other neighbours helped us to get the horses, pigs and cows out.

For some reason, the rescuers arrived with empty cars. Having no water to extinguish the fire, they first stood and watched it burn. Time was lost. Then they started pumping water from a nearby pond. Although some of the stables on the site were preserved, nothing remained of the house. 

We have no evidence that it was an arson. The police put forward a version of spontaneous combustion due to a short circuit. And I don’t want to think badly of people. 

At that time, I had a six-month-old daughter, and it became an extremely difficult challenge for our family: being left homeless with the baby and all the animals. 

About new shelters, new conflicts, and the value of support

After the fire, a woman from a neighbouring village, Natalia Turuta, helped us a lot. She arranged for other people in Krasiv to sell us the land in instalments. 

At first, there was nothing there: no stables, no water. Just empty land. After the fire, I thought there would be no shelter. I would definitely not be able to revive anything on my own. But Natalia and her husband began to build a fence on that territory, and after a while, we were able to move the animals there. 

The Turutas became administrators of the shelter, continued to care for the animals, and took on organisational tasks. They believed in our project and helped to keep it alive. And when the full-scale invasion began, these caring people went to the front. 

Later, we also started having problems with locals in Krasiv. Although the shelter was located outside the village and could not bother the residents in any way, it somehow did. People complained that the animals were defecating and stinking. By the way, pig farms, where animals are fed for slaughter, are also mostly located close to villages, but for some reason, the stench of their excrements does not bother people.

In our conflicts, it came to a village meeting to evict the shelter from the outskirts of Krasiv. They explained that it was supposedly a recreational area (in fact, it wasn’t).

I started looking for new locations to move the animals to when the locals ran out of legal ways to force the shelter out and started causing harm. For example, someone destroyed the bridge we built on our own to get to the pasture across the river. 

All our branches were formed after we left Krasiv. I realised that I would not be able to resist the pressure. We tried to provide “foster care” for our animals in different parts of Ukraine and looked for other stable housing options for them. The issue of finances was always acute because somewhere the rent was raised.

So, we moved some of the animals from Krasiv to the Mykolaiv centre. It already existed: earlier we were looking for new places to expand, and a friend of ours recommended this location. We do not disturb anyone there, as the neighbouring village is far away.

We took another group of animals from Krasiv to the Dnipro branch, and another one — to the Kherson shelter. Both locations were established that way. 

I would not have opened any other centre if it were not for the opposition to those who wanted to expel us. I can thank these difficulties because they helped Vuhlyk grow. Now, we have three shelters, and we are building the fourth one. Previously, there was a farm in Vasylivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, but now it is very noisy, and it is often struck with missiles, so this branch has already been relocated to the village of Balivka for two years. 

Here we have good relations with the village council and local residents. They allow us to graze our livestock in different areas, sell at a cheaper price or give us crop residues. Vuhlyk needs more extensive support, but it is very nice to know that we are not harassed. 

Who lives in Vuhlyk

We have a lot of dogs and cats. There are also many horses, cows, and pigs. There are goats, sheep, and even ponies and donkeys, which are much smaller in number because they get into difficult circumstances less often than others. Most of all, we have cows and pigs. 

We take in as many animals as we can afford to keep. There were cases when people simply gave us their domestic animals because they were moving out of their homes. Also, 5 goats rescued from the front line by Azov soldiers (our volunteers took the animals from Kharkiv, where the military had taken them) were admitted to the shelter free of charge.

However, in 99.9% of cases, we buy back domestic animals from their owners. When people are in difficult financial conditions, it is important for them to have this money in their budget. I cannot blame them. 

However, it is difficult to determine a fair price for an animal. When we start raising funds for the redemption of an animal, we have to justify its cost, transportation costs, etc. to our followers. Our organisation is not an animal repurchasing business. When, for example, they put a price of 40,000 hryvnias for a horse, my answer is: “Sorry, we can’t afford it.” The idea of rescue is lost. 

About ahimsa and other principles of shelters for domestic animals 

I know only one shelter in Ukraine that is similar to ours — Rifugio. The rest have a different format: they are engaged in farming, selling milk and cheese. 

There is such a concept as “ahimsa” — harmonious coexistence with a cow. The calf stays with its mother and drinks the milk that was created for it. And a human only shares the milk with the calf, but does not take it away completely. There are shelters with such philosophy in Ukraine, and they rehome many animals.

Our philosophy is different. We want the animals at Vuhlyk to live the life they are meant to live —without being exploited for life. At Vuhlyk, not a single cow gives milk. And only those animals that arrived at the shelter pregnant give birth.

When a cow comes to us after a dairy farm (if the animal is healthy), at the beginning, she goes into heat on schedule: every 21 days. But later on, the sexual cycle does not take place as often as it does on farms. A cow or mare that does not feel males around stops entering regular “heat”. 

To prevent fertilisation, we castrate male animals. However, we do not sterilise female cattle: these operations are extremely complicated and can endanger the health and life of animals. This is not common practice in the West either, as far as I know. 

In Ukraine, I still do not see any large-scale steps on the part of society to save domestic animals in particular. Our subscribers are a limited group of people, and in general, there are very few people willing to save domestic animals. 

People still come to us, asking: “Why do you ask for money to keep animals, why don’t you give the livestock away to people?” 

As for adoption, we do not give animals “to families”, although in our practice there are cases of successful adoptions under an official agreement. However, there were also such situations when new owners “disappeared”. They did not even provide a small photo report documenting what was happening to the animal.

According to the agreement, if a person improperly keeps an animal and does not provide a photo report, he or she undertakes to pay for the transfer of the animal back to the shelter. However, people did not comply with these conditions either: we came and took the animals back at our own expense.

About rehabilitation programmes

Today, even statistically, more and more psychosocial problems are being recorded in children. Therefore, the rehabilitation of children with various disorders is a very, very important and significant part of our lives. 

Before the start of the full-scale war, children came to Vuhlyk not just for excursions — they could interact with the animals, for example, feed them. Such format of communication takes place only if the animals want it.

The main value of Vuhlyk is that animals do not owe anything to anyone. We have horses that want to be petted all the time: they come up, put their backs and butts to you and always ask for attention. And there are those who are like “Hey, don’t touch me.”

Equine-assisted therapy is a delicate science. It should not be like this: put a child on a horse, ride it and goodbye. Hippotherapists must complete courses, obtain diplomas in this area of treatment and be competent and responsible in their attitude to both animals and those being rehabilitated.

About the shelter under occupation and money for rescue

Our Kherson branch is located in the temporarily occupied territory. There is a photo on Instagram with a story I could not keep silent about: the Russian occupiers severely beat a shepherd and shot a cow, after which they cut off her front legs. 

I document all the atrocities committed by Russians against our animals. However, I will be able to talk about most of the cases only after the war is over and that shelter is free. Now I am silent for the safety of the animals. Every day I think and worry about whether they will survive at all.

The territory where the shelter is located was occupied a couple of hours after the full-scale invasion. Cars with animals were shot on the roads, so unfortunately, there were no options to take the animals out. There were other farmers there who wanted to evacuate, but couldn’t. Therefore, I took out in three cars only those animals (weak cats and dogs, chickens) that lived directly in my house in Chornobaivka.

It costs 6.5 thousand euros to take one large animal from the occupied territory through third countries, which is unaffordable for our organisation. I can only pray that all the bad things will pass over the people and the animals we rescued, who are now living in the occupation.

A little more about money 

Vuhlyk would like to become independent. But so far, we have not found a way to make the shelter independent of outside funding.

There are several small volunteer organisations from Japan, U.S. and the UK that are gradually supporting us. We have not yet managed to get any large organisation interested. 

It is difficult for foreigners to feel the importance of our project without being here. Of course, we regularly film and photograph animals, write posts on social media and provide reports on how we spend the money donated. 

In fact, we mostly depend on ordinary people donating one or three dollars to us. I think that the world is changed by ordinary people: they do great things even with a little help. 

I am the only one who deals with communication and attracting new patrons. Resources are limited, and I believe that any work in our project should be paid for, including the work of future marketers or grant managers. 

On personal motivation to save animals and plans for the future

Communicating with animals makes me happy. The most joyful thing for me is to see the result. Looking at the rescued animal and noticing the changes that have taken place. 

We joke at the shelter that we don’t have people riding horses, but horses — people. I am fully committed to my work, I live for the sake of the animals I have rescued. It’s hard, and there are times when I want to give up. Then I go to the shelter, sit down next to the animals, pet them, and my motivation is immediately restored.

When we lived in the Kherson region, it was close to all the branches. At that time, I could constantly communicate with the animals.

Now I am farther away from the shelters. What’s more, the weather is not conducive to travelling, and I cannot always miss my daughter’s rehabilitation classes. But once a month I go to see the animals. I believe that any activity demands full engagement, dedication, and immersion in the work, truly feeling it.

The shelter has had bad and good times. But I think if you keep working on something, it will develop. I really want Vuhlyk to become better so that you can walk into any of our shelters and say: “Wow, how cool everything is here.”  I understand that we are still very far away from this.

Our Mykolaiv branch is exemplary. It has existed for five years, and major repairs have already been done there. And the Dnipro branch has already moved three times, so it is constantly under construction. But we have a vision, so I hope that in a few years, it will become a reality as we dream.

I believe that all animals, without exception, deserve another life, and I really want to give this “another life” to as many animals as possible.

 

The cover photo is from Oleksandra’s personal archive.

“Everyone knows: if Briulik is somewhere, Pastor is also there!” says Den Babenko, the chaplain of the 107th Mariupol Battalion of the 109th Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces. The rule also applies vice versa: if there is Pastor somewhere, there is also a small Yorkshire terrier called Briulia there.

Den’s call sign is Pastor. He actually serves as a pastor of the Protestant denomination in his native Pokrovsk. Long before the full-scale war, he had opened a centre for people with drug and alcohol addiction there. In 2014, he founded the Misto Myloserdia (The City of Mercy) project, which fed the needy on the streets of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. The project is still active today. Before the full-scale invasion, Den started organising a volunteer centre in Pokrovsk, and in the first days of the great war he joined the Territorial Defence Forces.

Now Den serves as a military chaplain. The military unit is stationed in Pokrovsk, and almost every day he drives to the frontline towns and villages to evacuate civilians. He often goes to the zero line to take out the wounded or deliver ammunition. Den organises donations for the purchase of bulletproof vests, cars, thermal imagers and transports all the necessary items to the frontline.

To tell us about his comrade Briulia, Den calls himself:

— I’m sorry I couldn’t talk yesterday. I had to take the wounded guys out at night, but I was not allowed to drive a car to the positions. They were taken out this morning.

— Did the dog travel with you?

— Yes. This is not just a dog — he is actually a friend, a warmate. Moreover, he is my personal psychologist. My combat Yorkie Briulia. He is 6 years old and he is my pet dog.

— If Briulia is a pet, why did you decide to take him with you?

— Due to circumstances. I knew that the russians would attack here. And I had no other thoughts than to take the family out. The worst thing that could happen was if they got to my family. Therefore, I sent my ex-wife and daughters to England, my wife and son — to Germany. I had no one to leave Briulia with. I could have sent him with my family, but we didn’t know what would happen at the border. Therefore, we decided that the dog would stay here.

I was afraid that the russians could get to my relatives, as I have been wanted in the “DPR” since 2015. They did not occupy Pokrovsk then, but their morons were here. When they came, there were only a few places in the town where Ukrainian flags hung. One of them was hanging over my church. They started calling me: they said, “Take it off, or we will set everything on fire.” About a week after they were expelled from Pokrovsk, I got a call, “Good afternoon, this is the ‘DPR’ prosecutor’s office. If you don’t come within three days, we will declare you as wanted.” I said, “Okay, then I will come with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

At first, I did not take Briulia to the army. My mother-in-law stayed here, and I took him to her like a little child: on Monday I took him to my mother-in-law’s house, and on Friday I took him for the weekend. Then we had the opportunity to rest at the military base on Saturday and Sunday. It went on like that for a couple of months, and then somehow I didn’t manage to take him to my mother-in-law’s place. He stayed with me for a week or two. And when I sent him to my mother-in-law again, after a while she called me and said, “Come and pick up your depressed dog. He does not eat or drink anything. Once he crawled under the sofa, he stays there.” When I arrived, he immediately started eating plain wheat porridge. He ate and got in the car. Since then, he has always been with me. We went to various cities: Bakhmut, Soledar, Lysychansk… 

There are a lot of abandoned animals in danger near the frontline. UAnimals evacuation team does a couple of trips a month to rescue them. You can help to save more animals!

I love him very much and would like him to be around.

— Where did he live with you?

— We lived on the base. I have various tasks: to go somewhere, pick up people, evacuate… And he is always with me! Always! When we are allowed, we spend the night at home in Pokrovsk.

— Has Briulia’s character changed during this time?

— He was calmer before the war. And in the conditions of war, he became a kind of master.

 — Does he chase cats?

— Now he does. He used to have a cat friend, but he died during the war. He chases all dogs, especially big ones. One day he got into trouble because of this. He was lucky that there was snow then. He ran up to the husky, and she kicked him with her paw — a knock! He fell into a pile of snow, and the big dog did not find him there. Otherwise, he would have been beaten.

Now Briulik got used to the military, he considers them as warmates. I had an incident… I was given a furlough, I came to Lviv and met my wife there. And so, Briulik was running towards her, and my wife called out, “Briulik!”, spreading her arms for a hug. And he ran past her. It turned out that two soldiers were standing behind her, and he was running towards them. The wife was offended, “Briulik, you are a traitor!” And I said, “No, no, no, he is a soldier now, he is running to his people.”

— Does he interfere with work?
— Imagine, this is the first time in history: he is preaching with me at the pulpit! He just lays down on the stage and waits for me to finish the sermon. He knows that he has to wait. You know what it is — a dog in the church. Everyone pays attention to him. I always say, “Hey, pay more attention to what I’m preaching, not to the dog!”

— Do you share the military meal or buy him food separately?
— He’s cool now. Over the past six months, he has had personal volunteers who send him food every Saturday. They also offered to sew military overalls for him. I say, “Don’t waste money, please, he won’t wear it!” He simply does not like to dress up, because he becomes a brake dog. You get him dressed, and he can barely move from paw to paw. He has one “coat” for the most severe frost: he more or less wears it. I don’t cut his hair now, and he has become so shaggy, shaggy. “You are a curly poodle,” I call him.

— Does Briulia somehow support you psychologically?

— Of course he does! Before the war, we lived one life, we were happy… Everything has changed. At least, I have seen my son since the beginning of the full-scale war, but not my daughters — only through video chat on Telegram. Sometimes, sad days come. And he understands that I’m sad.

When everyone was evacuated from Pokrovsk, I talked to him like to a person. I just told him about my pain and asked, “Do you understand?” And now I can sit opposite him and talk.

And sometimes I scold him. We get to the positions, somewhere where we can be fired upon, and I say, “You stay in the car.” And he jumps out. We don’t have time. I run, and he runs after me. We run into the basement, I shout at him, “Are you stupid? I told you to stay seated!” And he does not care: even though he is afraid, he still follows me.

— And how do other soldiers respond to such a small terrier on combat missions?

— He works for them as a psychologist too. Especially if I meet Yorkie fans, they are ready to tear me apart. They ask, “What does he eat?” I say, “Well, everything I do.” They say, “What are you doing, he can’t eat that!” They switch from the subject of war.    

Once we came to the boys of the 36th brigade near Avdiivka. And they call out, “Guys! Briulia has arrived!” They made a cartridge to hang on his collar. They presented it and said, “Look, Briulia, Patron doesn’t come here, with all due respect to Patron… And you are killing russians with marines near Avdiivka!”

The military is a lifesaver for animals. They always feed them… The Ukrainian army loves animals, the guys take them away from the positions.

— Does it happen that Briulia cheers you up?

— Always! This is a dog. Even though he is my friend, he remains a dog.

Every morning he lies down and watches until I open my eyes. As soon as I open them, he accelerates and jumps on me! He doesn’t calm down until he washes me off.

And once he saved me.

Once we had the task of bringing a full bus of ‘goodies’ to treat the russians. I was driving near Karlivka. It was just the two of us with Briulia. He started fussing, jumping off and on me… He had never done that before. I said, “Do you want to go outside? Let’s go.” I stopped, opened the door… And he ran out and sat down. I was already angry, “So, either you do your job or I’m leaving.” He sat for a while, then jumped back in and we drove off. And then a shelling from Grad system began in front of us: bang, bang! There were wounded people there. And if we hadn’t stopped… I turned to him and said, “I’m sorry, mate.”

— And where is he now?

— He is near me. Today they allowed me to spend the night at home and wash up. So we went to a coffee shop in Pokrovsk. Everyone knows him here.

By the way, let my warmates read about Briulik. At first, the deputy battalion commander was not happy when he saw him, “Oh, fighters with a dog, that’s all we need!” A week later, I come, and he brings me bones, “This is for Briulik.” Imagine that, he ate in the evening and thought about Briulik!

Disclaimer from UAnimals media: feeding a dog with bones is dangerous for the animal. Even more details about the proper nutrition of dogs are in our test.

Everyone in the battalion knows my dog. They say that he needs a combatant certificate!