“Where did you get that bite from?”

“From the marbled polecat”

“Oh, you have such interesting animals biting you. Was this somewhere in the tropics?”

“No, in Ukraine”

While waiting for the shot of a rabies vaccine in the hallway of the Kharkiv emergency room, zoologist Volodymyr Yarotskyy tried to explain to people what kind of animal had bitten him. No one there had ever heard of such a beast.

What is the marbled polecat? It is a small but mighty creature. This carnivorous animal is similar to a European polecat, but it has its own peculiarities. It has long claws, strong muscles, and can scream loudly.

Returning the marbled polecat into the wild was an adventure in itself for Volodymyr Yarotskyy. Continue reading to find out how it went. You will also find out what the marbled polecat can do and what helps and restricts its reemergence in the Ukrainian steppes.

Face to face with a beast

Volodymyr shares, “In the summer of 2020, I was leading a tour to the Homilsha Woods National Nature Park [in the Kharkiv region]. And that’s when my colleagues called me and said that they had caught a marbled polecat at the biological station of the V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Haidary is a village in the Kharkiv region.Haidary. We went there to have a look at the animal. It was in poor shape, and it bit me. I knew how to properly hold a ferret, just under its front paws. Then it can’t bite. In a marbled polecat, however, the tilt of the head is sufficient to bite your finger. The Mustelidae family, similarly to pit bulls, has the unique ability to bite through the flesh. Even though I was wearing welder’s gloves, the marbled polecat bit through them. It was my first encounter with an animal.”

The marbled polecat is a member of the Mustelidae family (aka mustelids), which includes animals that are both strong and plastic. Thus, it is related to the European ferret, marten, badger, otter, and skunk. And it has even more certain similarities to the skunk, but more on that later.

The animal’s Latin name, Vormela peregusna, comes from the Ukrainian language! The term peregusna is derived from perehuznya (перегyзня), which means “polecat” in Ukrainian. Vormela means “little worm”. Its body is very long and graceful, similar to that of a ferret or a weasel.

The species is known as the marbled polecat because of its color. The part pole, which means “chicken,” suggests that the animal is capable of stealing poultry. Yes, it did get caught doing this.

Marbled polecats prefer solitude. They spend time together only during the mating season.

In the article, Ukrainian zoologists refer to marbled polecats as the “occupied fauna”, i.e., animals that are not monitored by Ukrainian scientists. The scientific establishments, where the animal was safeguarded, are currently occupied, and the animal often shows up where there is active fighting.

Animals frequently play dead in the face of danger, a phenomenon known as apparent death. The most likely explanation is that predators are drawn to moving objects, and something that shows no signs of life will not draw their interest. However, some animals exhibit this behavior for different kinds of reasons. Certain snakes can wait for prey, whereas ants do so to avoid conflict.

Snakes, fish, insects, and mammals all pretend to be dead. For instance, possums. “Playing possum” means pretending to be dead or sleeping so that someone will not annoy or attack you. The black-footed ferret, skunk, and weasel can all do this. And the marbled polecat is an expert at playing the role of the dead.

But first, the marbled polecat will try other methods. When it detects danger, it stands on its hind legs and flashes its bright colors, which serve as a warning signal throughout the animal kingdom. In addition, the marbled polecat has special anal glands that can secrete a pungent odor. It also does this when it pretends to be dead or when it feels threatened.

Broken plans 

Volodymyr continues, “The girls placed the marbled polecat in a rabbit cage in an abandoned apartment that was cluttered with stuff.

I went to Lysychansk via Kreminna is a town in the Luhansk region, close to Lysychansk. Kreminna because I have family there. And I have a friend, Brian, from the US, who fell in love with Ukrainian forests and lived in Siverskodonetsk. I said, ‘Brian, can you give me a ride from Kreminna to Lysychansk? We need to pick up some rare animals, go to the forest, and release them. An hour there, an hour back…’ 

‘Don’t they stink?’

‘It’ll be fine.’ His wife was pregnant, and she was worried about the car being clean and her husband coming back as soon as possible.

I was going to vaccinate the marbled polecats against rabies, and I wanted to also take their paw prints and DNA material. But nope! It turned out that one of the marbled polecats had damaged the cage and gotten out. We spent three hours searching. We discovered it where half a brick had been broken off, behind the toilet. The animal curled up there, sleeping. We had to dismantle the toilet to get it out. Obviously, I was unable to do anything with the animals [vaccinate them and engage in research] because they were too frightened. We had to bring them to the forest, but I was bitten again.”

With its strong paws and long claws, the marbled polecat digs a spacious hole. Although when it is not in the mood to dig, it can sleep in someone else’s.

With the help of radio tracking, it was found that the marbled polecat covers up to one kilometer a day, rarely repeating its previous route and changing its den and territory of activity every 2-3 days. It spends time hunting, and when it is tired, it sleeps.

Temporary inconvenience

Volodymyr recalls, “When the marbled polecat bit me for the second time, I realized that I needed to get vaccinated against rabies.

Well, it’s 10 pm. We are going to an emergency room. They have no idea what the marbled polecat is there. And the rabies vaccine that was present contained six doses… Finally, they told me firmly that I needed to return for my next dose or find another vaccine from the same series.

They monitored me for two hours following the vaccination. Meanwhile, the marbled polecats were screaming. Plus, it smelled like there were skunks in the car.

Finally, when we went to release the animals, it was night . Brian brought me to Siverskodonetsk and said, ‘I’m not taking you to Kreminna, because my wife is waiting, but I’ll get you a taxi.’ And it was raining so heavily! Just a downpour! We also drove all over Siverskodonetsk in search of an ATM at two in the morning. We couldn’t see the road, there were streams of water everywhere.

In Kreminna, they quickly checked whether there was a batch of the vaccine I needed. And there was! So I got vaccinated there. And then I went home to Kharkiv and made 7 calls to get a referral for further vaccination. This is the twenty-first century, yet not everyone receives full vaccinations. People arrive on the first day, do not continue, and die from rabies.”

The boom of marbled polecats

Volodymyr elaborates, “In 2022-2023, there was a wave of mice in the trenches. At that time, there were many reports that marbled polecats were seen there. These are not very good stories, because these marbled polecats ended up in private hands. My colleagues from the NGO Ferret Galaxy and I called around to find out what the fate of the animals was. We were told that they were released. But it turned out that this was not always the case.

It happened that people realized that they could not keep a marbled polecat because it is a very special animal. Even though it appears adorable, it jumps at you, bites, and stinks. And then the animals get released. We know of two such cases.

This is the rarest species among mustelids. However, they are often captured.

Another marbled polecat I know of was in the Donetsk region. The animal was found near Kramatorsk is a city in the Donetsk region.Kramatorsk and was almost sold on the street. And then the man turned to Ferret Galaxy to consult about the maintenance of the animal… He swore that he had released the marbled polecat. But I don’t know if that really happened.” 

At the turn of the twentieth century, the marbled polecat was a common sight in the Azov steppes and on the territory of the modern Donetsk region. In the second half of the century, the animal began to die out.

The virgin steppe was plowed up more and more intensively, and cattle were grazed on what remained. The dogs that helped the shepherds herd their flocks caught wild animals in the steppes, including marbled polecats.

In the 1990s, scientists believed that only 100-150 marbled polecats remained in Ukraine. Gradually, cattle breeding in the East began to decline. And the predatory animal was seen more often. The revival of the marbled polecat began in 1998, as scientists later recorded. And since 2009, there has been a boom in the number of marbled polecats (if you can even call it that, given there have only been 29 of them identified over 43 years).

In 2010, a fight between two males was seen in Pryazovia is the geographic area of the north coast of the Sea of Azov, located in south-eastern Ukraine. Source: Wikipedia.Pryazovia, watched by another marbled polecat, probably a female. In 2016, a female was caught near Kramatorsk, which was a local sensation. According to the author of the study, 7 marbled polecats were found around Kramatorsk from 2016 to 2023.

In recent years, videos of marbled polecats from the trenches have been shared online. Last year, “a marble cat” was seen near a lake in Dnipro. And this year it was also spotted near Ukrainian military positions.

If you ever come across one, here’s a quick reminder: It is against the law in Ukraine to keep a Red List animal in captivity or to sell it.

The cover photo shows a marbled polecat at Magdeburg Zoo in Germany. Photo by Klaus Rudolph. Source: http://www.biolib.cz

I’m lying with my back against the wall, covered by a slab of concrete and surrounded by dry weeds, vehicle tires, bricks, and chunks of concrete. I spot a little, agile dog darting past me through a crevice. Then she rushes to the slab and barks loudly right in my face. She is adorable, of course, but her large teeth flash before my eyes, and her bark is deafening. This goes on for several long minutes until Olha, the dog’s handler, approaches and throws her a ball. Then I crawled out from beneath the simulated rubble at the State Emergency Service training facility.

Ninja, a five-year-old dog, looks for humans who are still alive underneath debris. And her biggest source of inspiration is this dazzling red ball. Ninja wants to “hunt” it down beyond anything else.

Search and rescue (SAR) dogs are present in all law enforcement agencies in Ukraine: the National Guard and the Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Emergency Service. Additionally, there are units with entirely different tasks within these structures. While some dogs look for bombs, others serve as police escorts. Dogs trained in search and rescue are able to locate survivors in the debris or in nature. In the article, we are going to concentrate on them specifically.

Where do SAR dogs live?

I first met Ninja in an indoor enclosure at the training ground known as the canine unit. However, she does not live there. Ninja lives at home with an emergency service worker and a dog trainer, Olha Bibikova, along with her mother and two other dogs. One of them is called Kliukva, who was also a SAR dog. The other is Kuzya from Sloviansk, who is paralyzed in her hind legs.

Ninja works at the training ground of the Mobile Rescue Center in the Kyiv region. All the dogs there belong to dog handlers and live with them.

“Dog handlers, like rescuers, work one shift every three days. When an emergency occurs, we go deal with the aftermath. We are on duty from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. When we go home, the dogs go with us,” says Olha.

Meanwhile, most dogs in the State Emergency Service belong to the state. They do not live with people, but in canine centers. “We have a fenced-in space here with about 50 enclosures,” says Vladyslav Pukhalskyi, a major of the Civil Protection Service and a veterinarian of the Interregional Center of Rapid Reaction State Service Emergency of Ukraine in Romny is a city in the Sumy region.Romny. There are three canine units there: emergency rescue, sapper, and dogs training group, where Vladyslav works.

The dogs are brought from this center to help in other regions, mainly to smaller permanent deployment points. There, they also have semi-permanent enclosures. “The enclosures can be transported by a crane. There are also kennels, covered on top to keep the water out,” says Vladyslav.

When an emergency situation happens and the order to leave is given, the dog is placed in a box (a small cage) and transported to work in a special vehicle along with people. 

In the field 

Work and rest spells

“Something is burning here, it’s hot over there, there’s smoke and dust, and everyone is working around… It’s a tense situation. It’s not the same as training,” Vladyslav recalls his trip to the Dnipro region.

SAR dogs from the State Emergency Service are now constantly working at the places of russian shelling. From the regional center, they go to the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipro regions. From the mobile center, they go mostly to the Kyiv region, but there may be other cities and even regions.

According to rescuers, the dog handler does not let the dog go where it is too dangerous, and the animal could, for example, collapse. The dog does not work for hours on end, assures Vladyslav. “The dog works for about 20 minutes, and that’s it. He searches the area and comes back, and people need to clear the rubble in that spot. They don’t even wait 20 minutes; that’s the maximum. Then the dog needs to be given water and put back in the carrier. We then judge the situation to determine if the dog is needed again.”

Although dogs work in short periods, they can be near the rubble all day or even longer. “There have been times when dogs have been at the search site for 24 hours,” says the veterinarian. When dogs are on site for many days, they live in vehicles, special kennels, and are able to walk around. The dog is not restricted to the kennel all the time.

In Antakya

Even during the full-scale invasion, Ninja managed to work not only on the rubble in Ukraine, but also abroad. On February 6, 2023, a powerful earthquake struck Turkey, and a team of Ukrainian rescuers went to the city of Antakya to help.

“It was devastating. You walk down the street and everything is destroyed,” recalls Olga. At first, Ukrainian teams searched the destroyed buildings, then cleared the rubble. They worked for nine days. Each shift lasted six hours, followed by six hours of rest, and then they went back to work.

“One building was being dismantled by an excavator. It was a multistorey building that had simply collapsed. In international classification, this is called a pancake collapse. And then someone heard a suspicious sound. There were a lot of people there, and they called us. Ninja started searching and marked the spot with her voice. Turkish rescuers pulled a 30-year-old woman out of there,” says Olha. The woman was immediately placed on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance. She was conscious, but her condition was marked as critical. That year, the Ukrainian Kennel Union awarded Ninja the The Medal for Lifesaving is a medal of Ukraine presented for saving human life, acts of charity, humanistic and other activities in public health, and accident prevention. Source: Wikipedia.Medal for Lifesaving.

A puppy with a strong food motivation has a better chance of becoming a SAR dog. Play motivation is also important: a toy motivates the dog to perform a task.

Building skills in reverse

“All dog skills are taught from the end goal,” explains Olha. “What do we want to achieve? We want the dog to find a person and mark them with the voice. The person takes a motivational object — something the dog wants, such as a toy or food — and shows it to the dog. If the dog barks, the toy or some food is given. Then the person hides gradually. If it is a forest, then behind a tree, and if it is rubble, then behind some kind of shelter. The dog quickly understands that he needs to sniff. This is natural for a dog; this animal lives by its nose.”

Dogs are taught to search for dead people and, for example, drugs using a sample. Besides that, the process is similar. The difference is that a search and rescue dog must receive encouragement from the person he has found, not from its handler. That is why dogs must be friendly to people.

Dogs that have undergone training to become SAR dogs take exams together with their handlers. There are three stages of certification. The first one is an eligibility exam. The dog must find one person in a rubble pile or in the forest and pass an obedience and agility test. Then comes the so-called Class A exam—the dog must find two people within a certain time. The next stage is Class B—the dog must find three people. The search area increases for each class.

Is training beneficial or harmful?

“When we take a predator animal, whose senses and entire physique are designed for active movement and hunting, and place it in a very comfortable apartment with a soft bed, such an animal has nowhere to apply its physical abilities and intelligence,” says dog behavior expert Ria Smulska. She cares for six street dogs and works with pet dogs. According to her, a dog cannot be forced to search using cruel methods. The animal works at a distance, without a leash or an electric collar. So the dog chooses whether to cooperate with humans and obey commands.

“For dogs, such training is a joy. They can use their noses to demonstrate species-specific behavior. They work in tandem with their favorite person. No handler who has trained a dog will treat it as expendable. The dog is your partner, whom you have raised and cherished. Training is very energy-intensive for the handler too,” says Ria.

Puppies are trained every day. The older the dog, the less often he needs to be trained, says Olya Bibikova. “The dog should miss the search. If you train for an hour every day, the dog will barely drag itself there. Oh no, not again, it’s taking so long, I’m bored… Ninja searches once a week. It’s part of the hunting instinct. When she finds a person and they throw a ball for her, it’s as if she has found and caught her prey.”

How SAR dogs receive medical help

“Eva just had an appointment. I treated her skin,” says veterinarian Vladyslav. “I have 34 dogs under my care.”

Previously, there were three employees in the department. Now he is the only one, but they plan to expand the staff. Vladyslav regularly examines the dogs, gives them vaccinations and treats them. However, the health of search dogs is not only his responsibility, but of dog handlers. “The dog handlers see that something is wrong with a dog, then they bring the animal to me. In diagnosing a disease, it is not only the clinical picture that is important, but also the medical history. How the dog behaves, whether he is active or more passive, whether he has been jumping or whining. You need to gather as much information as possible.”

Before starting their job, dog handlers undergo training in SAR dog handling. They also learn about veterinary care. “I explain to them how to examine dogs, how to remove ticks, how to take the temperature, and what to inject if necessary. They can also always call and ask questions,” says Vladyslav. Veterinarians equip dog handlers with first aid kits so that they can help the dogs in an emergency. According to Vladyslav, the most common cases are scratches or bee stings. Even more common are digestive disorders. “We go to a different place, where the water is different. Dogs react strongly to water. They start to have problems.”

Search and rescue dogs must be healthy, even from a pragmatic point of view. They cannot be obese, have problems with their musculoskeletal system, or suffer from pain. Otherwise, the dog will not be able to work.

After working on the rubble, dogs sometimes come back with cuts, says Vladyslav. More serious injuries, he says, are rare. “Last year, there was a case where a dog was injured after searching the rubble. A medic stitched her up.”

There have been no cases of dogs dying at the center in the entire history of canine calculations, according to the center. The center has existed in its current form since 2018. The State Emergency Service did not disclose information about fatalities after the start of the full-scale invasion. However, dogs have died in other structures; for example, since 2022, at least 25 dogs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have died. These were not search and rescue animals, but mostly guard dogs who died because of russian shelling. 

In place of a dog

Why dogs?

Microscopic robots assist with surgical procedures, drones replace intelligence troops, and artificial intelligence engages in philosophical discussions. Why, then, in such a technological society, are dogs brought in to help?

Rescue missions do not arrive at the rubble empty-handed. They have special microphones and cameras, including infrared ones. These technologies help find victims who can be seen, heard, or whose infrared signature can be detected. If this is not possible, then only canine teams can help.

Dogs can quickly locate victims by smell. Technology cannot replace a dog’s nose, which has evolved over millions of years. At least not yet. 

Right platform needed

“Hello! That’s Spot!”

In numerous videos, scientists show a funny yellow “dog”. They say you just want to pet him. No matter how cool he may seem, he has no emotions or thoughts. Spot is a robot from Boston Dynamics, designed primarily for data collection.

For something to work on rubble instead of a dog, that something needs to be able to move as dynamically as an animal or a human. Spot is a dynamic platform capable of moving through space. Unlike wheeled or tracked drones, it moves better over awkward piles of earth or debris because it mimics the movement of a dog.

The Hong Kong-developed Unitree Go2 is actively sold on the Ukrainian market. It is also demonstrated at various technical innovation exhibitions in Ukraine.

There are many other robot dogs. Some are already being used by the Ukrainian army, but not for search and rescue, rather for certain logistical tasks.

Robots do not get tired or feel pain. Perhaps they will replace dogs in rubble if they are equipped with a so-called electronic nose. 

All you need is a nose 

Most likely, in addition to dog paws, Spot will also have an electronic nose, says Dr Nik Denler, developer of one such “nose.”

An electronic nose is a sensor. It analyzes what we and animals perceive as smell. These are volatile substances emitted by objects. These molecules hit the sensor, and the computer converts the data into a signal, in our case, whether there is a person under the rubble.

Electronic noses will also be used in other areas. They will detect the presence of diseases in plants and the smell of forest fires. Such devices are already being used to determine air quality, including in Ukraine. However, when it comes to searching for people after disasters in real-life conditions, electronic noses have not yet replaced live dogs.

In experiments only

The “nose” developed by British scientist Nik Denler was able to recognize the smells of bananas, cheese, pineapple, and eucalyptus, even when they changed 60 times per minute.

He developed the device, the size of a bank card, together with colleagues from the University of Hertfordshire. Although the goal of the development was to replace police dogs with robots, at the moment this experiment has only confirmed that the technology can analyze smells in general.

In 2018, at the University of Innsbruck, five men and four women entered a special airtight chamber made of stainless steel and glass one at a time. Beforehand, the chamber was cleaned of odors, and a special fan stirred the air. The volunteers entered wearing only underwear and no makeup, and they had not eaten anything for eight hours beforehand to simulate being trapped under rubble. For the first hour, the person breathed through a mask, and for the second hour, without it. During this time, the latest device measured volatiles — first those released through the skin, then those released through the skin and breath.

The electronic nose managed the task and was able to indicate the presence of people.

This device is one of the most famous odor sensors designed to search for people under rubble. It was developed by ETH Zurich.

There is also a French development, the Sniffer sensor, for searching for people, which has already been integrated into a robot named Smurf. This device moves on wheels, so Smurf cannot move as freely as a dog.

Sniffer and Smurf were tested together during the CURSOR project (a European scientific initiative to develop various rescue devices). This pair could detect the presence of a person at a distance of about two meters. They only worked in training conditions.

When an emergency happens, dogs are needed immediately. They are a valuable part of rescue teams, who have been extensively trained and live in special conditions. They are not stationed in every remote location where an earthquake, avalanche, or explosion could occur. They must be transported to the site, sometimes even by plane or helicopter. Therefore, devices could potentially become an even more accessible solution than dogs. 

At the same time, many people are concerned about another conflict: A dog can never give informed consent to dangerous work. No matter how well dogs are cared for, they are still exposed to risk in one way or another. Technology could eliminate this issue.

Replacing dogs with robots is an area of intense scrutiny and interest for scientists. So an electronic nose is a broad and dynamic field of research. However, so far, no Spot moves as skillfully as Ninja, and electronic sensors have not surpassed her sensitive wet nose.

The bus depot in the village of Bilohorodka was rarely in use. No one could say for sure when a van covered in brightly colored fabric appeared there. It seemed to be a circus van. It was heavily rusted. There was a bucket next to it, and someone had poured some sawdust on the bottom of the load space.

Once close to the van, a surprise awaits: Two bears are sitting in the back, each locked in a rusty cage about a square meter in size. The cages could barely fit the animals themselves.

This is exactly what animal rights activists saw when they arrived in the village of Bilohorodka in the Kyiv region in 2015. The owner introduced them to his “stars” — bears Yulia and Zoya. The animals worked in the entertainment industry, and after each performance, the bears used to get back to their cramped cages.

What happened to Yulia and Zoya next? How did the circus life affect the mental health of these animals? In this article, we are looking for answers to questions about the lives of Yulia and Zoya in particular and circus bears in general.

How and where did animal rights activists first encounter Yulia and Zoya? 

“I remember that day very well. It was June. There was a truck at the depot, not a very big one, more like a food truck. The cages were small, so they stood side by side in this van. The owner was also there. It seemed that he was a handler, but it was not clear. He didn’t tell us much,” recalls Taras Boiko, director at FOUR PAWS Ukraine. The organization still has the bear owner’s phone number, but the only thing you can hear by dialing it is “This number is out of service.”

It is not known for certain whether someone noticed the bears and informed animal activists or whether the owner himself contacted them. At the time, an expert on bear behavior, Maryna Shkvyria, was working as a consultant for FOUR PAWS, which supported a bear shelter in the village of Berezivka (Zhytomyr region). “I got a call from Yana Renk, an animal rights activist,” Maryna recalls. “Yana is no longer alive. She was killed by russians in the first days of the full-scale war. She told me about the van with the bears. She said the owner was willing to give them away. I took a taxi there, took a picture, and sent it to the organization’s management. They got it and replied, ‘Let’s take them.’”

Then FOUR PAWS staff came to Bilohorodka and signed an agreement with the owner to transfer the animals under their care. One of the signatures belonged to Taras Boiko, who recalls the words of Yulia and Zoya’s former owner. He was a young man, and he told Taras, “I can’t keep them anymore. They are of little use because they are old and sick. So take them away.”

The bears were loaded into transportation cages and brought to Berezivka. In 10 days, the enclosures were prepared, and the bears were eventually able to go there.

Four years later, Zoya and Yulia were relocated to the BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr, where they live today.

What was the state of the bears’ health?

Back in Berezivka, Zoya had many of her teeth removed, which had been previously damaged, as she ground them against the bars. Yulia had similar issues, so she also had to have her teeth treated.

Zoya was diagnosed with a whole set of problems: liver cirrhosis, bladder inflammation, a broken finger and claw, severe neurological disorder, and epileptic seizures. In addition, they found out that the bear was almost blind.

Both bears exhibited pathological behavior. They had severe stereotypic behavior.

“Yulia shifts from paw to paw and shakes her head,” says Olya Fedoriv, marketing manager at the BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr. “When visitors see this, they are happy that ‘the bear is dancing’. It is important to emphasize that this is a sign of stress, and it is not fun at all.”

Animals often respond to stress by making repetitive movements. Something similar happens to people. When nervous, some unconsciously twiddle their thumbs, some bite their nails or pencils, some rock from side to side. People with autism can repeat monotonous movements under stress. This is called stereotypic behavior. It also occurs in animals living in poor environments and cramped conditions. An animal starts walking in a circle, moving back and forth along the fence, shaking its head, or scratching itself. An elephant, a horse, a bear, a wolf, or a parrot can behave like this. When an animal has something to distract it, the behavior may not interfere with its life. The situation is different when it lives in a confined space and its days are filled with absolutely nothing. In this case, an animal can fixate on this behavior, often to the point of harming itself or ignoring other stimuli. Even when such an animal has a choice of what to do, it will not immediately overcome stereotypic behavior.

It may take a long time for an animal to give up its obsessive behavior and, for example, go exploring the enclosure.

It is usually not possible to completely overcome stereotypic behavior, especially in older animals. However, experts try to at least reduce its manifestations. For this purpose, they use so-called enrichment enclosures. There are special toys that stimulate the animals’ curiosity, make them move, and distract them from the behavior.

Olya Fedoriv shares what enriches the enclosures at Domazhyr, “We have a wooden box inside which an animal caretaker puts food. The bear has a very developed sense of smell. It smells the food and tries to get it. Bears do not break the box. They try to interact with the toy and eventually realize which board needs to be moved to get the food out. There is a wooden drum with a hole on top where an animal caretaker puts the food. The bear knows that he has to spin the drum and put his paw inside to get the food out.

There are bars to climb on, and some can be laid down on. And there are those on which food is laid out, and bears have to get it out. There are wooden balls, and animals love to play with them. If someone shows a strong manifestation of stereotypic behavior, animal caretakers react by throwing nuts with honey to the bears. The bear catches the smell, gets distracted, and goes looking for the nuts.”

What other circus animals have ever lived at Domazhyr? 

Even before Zoya and Yulia, a circus bear named Khrystyna lived in Domazhyr. She had been one of the first residents of the sanctuary. She is no longer there. Khrystyna died last year. However, it’s important to tell her story. Her autopsy showed many severe chronic diseases.

Khrystyna was a Himalayan brown bear. She had beautiful sandy fur. “This subspecies is used in the circus because the bears are small and compact. They are easier to transport and control,” explains Natalia Halayko.

Khrystyna was seized from her owner in August 2017. Natalia recalls, “The bear lived in a traveling circus. The owner traveled all over Ukraine. He transported neglected Khrystyna in a cramped cage. He would put skirts and all kinds of other outfits on her, and she would perform circus tricks. There is a village called Ivano-Frankove not far from us, and he came there with a performance. Back then, the ban on keeping wild animals in traveling circuses was in place. Animal activists, together with the police, seized the bear.”

There was an inflamed area on the animal’s neck, completely without fur, a place from which the collar had not been removed for years. Khrystyna was diagnosed with many chronic diseases. She suffered from arthritis, arthrosis, and had a severe stereotypic behaviour. Khrystyna had glaucoma in one eye, which had to be removed. The bear’s teeth had deteriorated, so the staff bought food for her that she was able to chew.

Khrystyna got used to her enclosure well. She loved to swim and bask in the sun. However, her chronic illnesses still bothered her. Two years ago, Khrystyna began to get very sick and was suffering a lot. At Domazhyr, it was decided to euthanize her. Khrystyna was 27 years old.

Why do circus animals have so many diseases?

When bears are kept in private animal collections, most owners cannot provide adequate nutrition, explains Natalia Halayko, deputy director of the BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr. The animals live in cramped cages, and their sedentary lifestyle is harmful to the musculoskeletal system. A circus animal is under constant stress: bright lights, lots of people, noise, applause, music, lots of smells.

Natalia Halayko explains, “It is clear that the bears from circuses were abused in their places of living. They have serious problems with vision, hearing, and severe stereotypic behavior.”

Sometimes in circuses or hunting stations, animals are harmed deliberately. Domazhyr staff does not recall any cases when someone was caught in the act, however, such abuse is clear from the conclusions of veterinarians who examined the bears. Natalia tells us, “Our Zoya is blind. Veterinarians assume that the bear could have been blinded on purpose so that it would not react to bright light. For example, sometimes animals are beaten with sticks on the cervical spine, which disrupts innervation. If we compare the health of a circus bear and an animal that was simply kept in a cage, the health of circus animals is much worse.”

It is not so easy to find out how an animal actually lived before it came to the rehabilitation center. “If an animal is forcibly seized, it is often not even possible to meet the owners, let alone learn in detail about the animal’s life. The owners do not always show up for a removal procedure. Sometimes they say, ‘You can come, and a representative will be there.’ We take the animal and that’s it.”

Bears used in the entertainment industry do not hibernate. This also affects the bear’s health. The processes in its body do not happen in a way that is natural for the species. “In the wild, it can happen that a bear does not finish eating and then does not go to sleep. But this is very rare. Next year, such a bear can go to sleep for the winter. However, in captivity, bears have no choice. They simply are not allowed to sleep year after year. Physiological processes are disrupted. During the winter sleep, the skin on the paws should regenerate, and fat should be burned off little by little until spring. But none of this happens.

In winter, bears don’t eat anything in the wild. In the spring, the animal eats a little, then the mating season begins and it loses weight. The bear starts eating a lot in August. By winter, the animal can increase its weight by up to 40%. In captivity, everything is different. Zoya and Yulia were very thin, and sometimes bears in captivity are overfed, and this also harms them.”

How have Zoya and Yulia settled in at Domazhyr?

Zoya’s enclosure is designed to allow her to move freely. She lives alone. It is dangerous to place her with others. The bears may fight, and this is a big risk for a blind bear.

Yulia is a totally different case. Two years ago, she was transferred from the adaptation enclosure to a big one. Bears Mania and Kvitka live in the neighboring one. “Perhaps Yulia will be able to socialize and live in a large enclosure with Mania and Kvitka,” Natalia hopes. “Mania and Kvitka also used to live separately. Now they eat together and sleep together. As for the relationship between them and Yulia, there are better days and worse ones. We hope that they will become friends. This is the fourth year of socialization. We are taking baby steps.

Socializing bears sometimes takes years. If successful, they live together. This improves their quality of life.”

Does a bear have a personality?

Of course, and what a personality it is! “The bears’ personalities are very different,” says Olya Fedoriv. “Some of our bears are very calm. They walk around slowly, and they are in no hurry. There are also active ones that run around from the early morning, then take a little nap in the afternoon, and then run and play again.”

Zoya is a sensible lady. She enjoys sniffing everything and often lifts her head up to smell the air. Yulia loves to play with the enrichments and demonstrates bizarre poses. Olya Fedoriv even created a special series of posts on social media called Yoga Poses by Yulia. The bear is especially fond of a log suspended on chains. Olya says, “She lays down under the log and starts shaking it with her four paws! Or she likes to sit in the pool. She sits there for a long time. She likes to put her face in the water, and only her eyes are visible. I call her ‘a crocodile’.”

Everyone in Domazhyr has their own preferences. For example, bear Masha is known for her love of tomatoes, and bear Potap loves fish. Zoya’s favorite food is bananas. Yulia is not a picky eater — she likes everything.

How does a bear mind work?

Natalia Halayko explains, “The bear’s intelligence is somewhere on the level of a dog.

The bear has a very good memory. 80% of the bear’s diet consists of plants, so they need to move through bushes where there may be berries or other food. So they create their own routes. Bears think over where to go for food.

Bears raise their cubs very attentively for two or three years. A bear can take in another bear cub if it is an orphan. It happens that a young bear gives birth to cubs and cannot teach them all the skills, then an older bear can take them away.

We went to the Carpathian Mountains and talked to local people. They told us that a bear, having noticed hunters, can go backwards to put tracks in the wrong direction and deceive people. These are truly animals able to think carefully.”

Scientists caution against attributing human traits to an animal. However, this does not mean that a bear feels good in a cage. The discomfort of an animal living in a cramped and poor environment is not only in restrictions of its movement. In such conditions, an animal has little sensory load, and in simple terms, it is terribly bored. This is especially true for animals with high intelligence. And bears are definitely among them.

The enrichment of the enclosures at Domazhyr is both to distract bears from the stereotypic behavior and to allow them some mental gymnastics. They even eat with special mannerism. They have their own ways of savoring their favorite food. Olha shares her observations, “We give them oranges. I’ve noticed more than once that they eat all the flesh and leave the peel. Once we brought watermelons. They pressed lightly from above, the watermelon cracked, they opened it, and ate the inside part. They do not swallow everything at once. They even put an apple on their paw and eat a little bit. However, the bear bites on it two or three times, and the apple is gone.”

What happens after rehabilitation and socialization of bears?

People often ask why the bears are not released from the rehabilitation center into the wild, Natalia says. “There are centers that take care of cubs from the wild, whose mothers have died, for example. They are taught to survive without direct human contact. If an animal is born in captivity and is used to humans, it is a huge risk. Perhaps the bear will cope in the wild. However, it will approach people, and that does not always end well.”

The bears that come to Domazhyr will live here for the rest of their lives. They are to some extent protecting their relatives in captivity. At the sanctuary, people can see bears in conditions close to nature and listen to stories about their fate. After that, it is unlikely that these visitors will have the desire to lock such an animal in a cage, put a skirt or a collar on it.

“Selling wild European hamsters.” I posted this ad on one of the country’s most popular online marketplaces, OLX. I promised healthy and active male and female hamsters. The European hamster is a species listed in Ukraine’s Red Data Book, so I set the price at a minimum of 800 hryvnias (~$20) “per piece.”

For half a day, the ad awaited moderation, but in the evening, it was rejected. This item was on the list of those prohibited for publication.

However, soon after, I made a second attempt. This time, I omitted the full scientific name of the species but provided a detailed description of my endangered fluffies. And just like that, the ad was approved.

I didn’t have a single hamster, and I had never even seen a wild hamster in my life. But if I had one, I could have easily violated the law. Yes, Ukrainian legislation does prohibit the sale of Red Data Book animals and plants. Despite this, such sales were, until recently, thriving openly on perhaps the country’s largest online marketplace platform. 

A Lynx on OLX

On September 7, 2023, near a shopping mall in the Obukhiv district outside Kyiv, two cars pulled up. A fashionably dressed woman and another woman with a notebook stepped out of one. From the other car, a man emerged holding a cat carrier.

— Did you bring the documents for the animal? — the woman with the notebook asked.

— Need documents? We’ll make them! Hold it in your hands, don’t be afraid!

The man took a small lynx out of the carrier and handed it to the stylishly dressed woman. Of course, she should hold it — to fall in love with it and finally decide to buy it! She had been considering it for two weeks. A wealthy young mother had responded to an OLX ad in which the man was offering a lynx. Her daughter had recently watched the “Mavka” cartoon and fallen in love with a character named Kvus, who resembled a lynx kitten. The girl desperately wanted a pet lynx. The man was asking $3,800 for the animal.

As soon as the mother took the lynx kitten, the police appeared. The animal was forcibly confiscated. The stylishly dressed woman was Marina Ivaniusko, a lawyer from the animal rights organization URSA. The organization’s founder Yaroslava Koba, who devised the sting operation, played the role of the assistant with the notebook.

“We asked whether it bites, what to feed it, whether it should be sterilized, how much space it needs. In messages, they assured us it was one of the easiest animals to keep, that it wouldn’t mind living in a house and eating cat food,” Yaroslava recalls.

The man claimed he bred adult lynxes with a male once a year and sold the offspring. The confiscated young lynx was underweight and had numerous health issues.

“It was impossible to go to their location and verify that they were breeding animals — they don’t disclose their address,” says Yaroslava. “At the man’s registered address, there were no lynxes. To track him and search the premises, a warrant is required, but in Ukraine, this is only considered an administrative offense, so no search warrant is issued.” As a result, the seller got off with a fine.

The lynx kitten was named Ursa. It is now undergoing rehabilitation at the Wild Animals Rescue Center in the Kyiv region. Efforts are being made to find it a shelter abroad where it can live in at least semi-wild conditions.

“When this lynx was confiscated, my phone didn’t stop ringing,” recalls lawyer Nina Arzamastseva, who provides legal support for crossing the border with animals. “Strange people were calling, asking if they could get the confiscated lynx back. I started asking them questions. In the end, I told them: forget about it.” 

Not Just the Big Ones

The law prohibits the sale and purchase of not only bears or big cats but even the smallest animal listed in the Red Data Book. That’s why I decided to start my experiment with a hamster.

However, the endangered wild hamster isn’t actually that small — it can weigh up to half a kilogram. It also has a habit of gnawing on everything in the vegetable garden, which is why people usually want to get rid of it.

At the Hamster Rescue Center, they urge people not to kill these animals but to report them to zoologists. Specialists then capture the hamster and relocate it to the wild. The head of the center, Mykhailo Rusin, has often been advised, “Pay people for the hamsters, and garden owners will be more willing to hand them over.” These advisors didn’t even realize the absurdity of their suggestion. And that wasn’t the strangest case. “There was an instance where some unknown individuals wanted to buy up hamsters for 2,000 hryvnias (~$50) each — who knows what for,” says Mykhailo. “We refused, and the matter ended there. But who knows? Maybe they found poachers willing to supply them with animals. We don’t know that.”

One of the most frequently listed Red Data Book animals on OLX were mustelids — ferrets and marbled polecats. Or maybe they were just the most documented cases since zoologists from the Rehabilitation and Care Center for Mustelids in Ukraine have been closely monitoring online marketplace websites over the past few years. Whenever they spotted an ad selling a rare animal, they would contact the sellers and negotiate persistently. The outcomes varied: sometimes, healthy animals were successfully returned to the wild; other times, cases ended in the animal’s death. Like this one did.

In 2020, in the Donetsk region, someone posted an ad for a “domestic ferret” they had found on the street. Experts came across the listing and immediately recognized the animal in the photo — not a ferret, but a rare marbled polecat. The Center’s staff began negotiations. At first, they asked the sellers to release the polecat back where they had found it, if it was healthy. The sellers refused, claiming the animal was limping. Eventually, they agreed to hand it over to a volunteer.

Vika Moiseyeva, director of the Rehabilitation and Care Center for Mustelids, recalls: “When they handed over the polecat, they demanded a ‘reward’ from the volunteer for ‘saving a rare animal.’ The volunteer immediately took the polecat to a vet. There were no issues with its legs, but it had a head wound. In the photos taken right after the animal was caught, there was no visible injury. The wound was a result of holding a wild animal in a space unsuitable for this species. In its attempts to escape the cage, the polecat had injured its forehead. The animal did not survive rehabilitation.”

In 2022, a steppe polecat ended up in private ownership in the Lviv region. The owner also listed it for sale. After a conversation with zoologists, he agreed to release the animal. However, things didn’t go as planned. It turned out that after months in captivity, the polecat’s health had deteriorated. All four of its canines — essential survival tools for ferrets — were broken.

“Most likely, it broke them itself on the cage bars while trying to escape. Later, it developed signs of epilepsy, so the little one had to remain in captivity,” says Viktoriya.

Some animals were successfully rewilded. In 2021, six European polecats that were put on sale in the Dnipropetrovsk region got lucky. The sellers handed them over with little resistance. Initially, though, there were seven polecats, but they gradually weakened, and one didn’t survive. The remaining six underwent rehabilitation and were released back into the forest.

A telling case occurred in the Volyn region in 2024. “We met a man who had ended up with five European polecats. He gladly handed them over for rehabilitation. As far as we know, the animals had been caught by a poacher who was trying to sell them through acquaintances. We released the polecats back into the wild. Later, the same man contacted us again — asking if he should buy an adult polecat from the poacher as well. We asked him to provide information about the poacher.” But that never materialized.

Buying a wild animal is just as much a crime as selling one. As long as there is demand, there will be supply.

Fish Too

Black caviar and sturgeon meat have become so popular worldwide that sturgeon species are now on the brink of extinction. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), sturgeons are currently the most endangered group of species among all such groups.

The Danube basin and the Black Sea remain the last places in Europe where sturgeon populations are self-sustaining, meaning new generations of fish continue to appear. Wild sturgeon fishing has been banned in all countries that have territory within the Danube basin and the Black Sea coastline.

Despite all laws and agreements, sturgeon continues to be traded illegally, with the Odesa region being one of the most active hubs for this trade. Between 2016 and 2023, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recorded 94 cases of illegal sale or purchase of wild sturgeon in Ukraine.

According to various documents analyzed by the WWF, more than 930 kilograms of sturgeon meat and over 50 kilograms of caviar were bought or sold during this period. However, the organization states that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

After the shelling of Odesa began, access to the Danube and Black Sea shores was restricted or even prohibited in some areas. Nevertheless, some people still manage to reach fishing spots — 12 such incidents were recorded in 2023.

There have even been cases where officials, whose duty it is to protect the fish, were involved in illegal fishing. In September 2022, police detained two employees of the State Agency for Fisheries. They had been extorting monthly payments from commercial fishers in exchange for allowing them to fish without interference. These officials permitted excessive catches, including of sturgeon. In return for catching beluga and starry sturgeon — both rare species — the men received 50% of the catch’s value as a bribe.

Is There a Legal Way to Buy a Red Data Book Animal?

Obtaining Red Data Book species for sale (e.g., capturing animals in the wild) is explicitly prohibited by Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine, “On the Red Data Book of Ukraine.”

The Code of Administrative Offenses also effectively prohibits the sale of endangered animals, though the wording might not be obvious to someone without a legal background. The relevant clause refers to the “violation of the procedure for acquiring or selling objects of the animal world” (Article 88-1). However, no such regulation (“procedure”) officially exists. There are, of course, regulations relating to the sale of animals, but they are scattered across various other provisions. In this case, this is the Law “On the Red Data Book of Ukraine” and certain international regulations. Anyone who sells or purchases a Red Data Book animal in Ukraine faces a fine ranging from 1,700 to 3,655 hryvnias (~$41 to ~$90) and the confiscation of the animal.

The sale and purchase of any Red Data Book species within Ukraine are strictly prohibited. However, in some cases, such an animal may be purchased abroad and imported into Ukraine.

The IUCN Red List compiles all species worldwide that are threatened or at risk of extinction.

The international trade in rare animals is regulated by an agreement known as CITES — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This agreement includes three appendices listing species. Depending on an animal’s status, trade may be strictly regulated or completely prohibited. Appendix I contains all species threatened with extinction. Trade in these animals is banned, though it may be allowed in exceptional circumstances and for non-commercial purposes.

A CITES permit is required to transport a wild animal across a border. Without it, at the very least, the animal will be confiscated at the border.

In some European Union countries, rare animals can be legally bred and sold. In such cases, a Ukrainian citizen can purchase an animal by obtaining a CITES permit. Once in Ukraine, the animal must be registered with the State Environmental Inspectorate. According to lawyer Nina Arzamastseva, birds of prey — such as saker falcons and peregrine falcons — have been imported into Ukraine through this process.

There are breeders in Ukraine who legally breed exotic animals — those not part of the country’s native fauna and not listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, though they may still be protected by international law. At the same time, a black market for these species continues to thrive.

Middlemen sell animals from illegal breeding operations, where they are born and raised in completely unsuitable conditions, the lawyer explains. “I received information about a panther cub that died,” says Nina Arzamastseva. “It was kept in such terrible conditions by these traffickers that it never reached a healthy weight. Someone bought it, and the cub died in the buyer’s hands. These black-market breeders have even created a non-governmental organization that issues documents for animals of any species whatsoever. The middlemen refer their clients to this organization, which provides all the necessary paperwork — registration certificates, and various certificates of origin. But in reality, these documents have nothing to do with the animal’s true background. That’s what happened with this panther cub.”

Until about a year ago, the OLX marketplace was flooded with ads selling Red Data Book animals, according to Nina. The platform now enforces stricter controls on prohibited listings, but the illegal market remains active: “People are still creating Telegram channels for sales, closed-group chats — even for Red Data Book animals. Everything has just moved under the radar.”

Main image: Charitable Fund Ukrainian Rehabilitation and Care Center for Mustelids

Giant mutant rats and two-headed dogs — the legends surrounding Chornobyl are countless. Add to that the eerie vibe of deserted, desolate lands, and it’s no wonder tourists from around the world have flocked here, particularly fans of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game series and viewers of HBO’s miniseries. 

But Chornobyl isn’t about romance; it’s about tragedy. This land suffered deeply under Soviet rule in the 1980s, and now, since 2022, it faces similar harm from its successor, russia. On the very first day of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, their troops entered the Exclusion Zone, occupying it and the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve. They dug trenches in the Red Forest, raising radioactive dust with their heavy equipment.

Now, after liberation, Chornobyl is also a militarized zone, as Ukraine’s army works to prevent the occupation from happening again. At the same time, it remains a nature reserve. The head of scientific research at the Chornobyl Reserve and the researcher who authored the book The Terrible, The Beautiful and The Ugly in Chornobyl details the transformation of local nature from the post-disaster era to the wartime period.

After the Disaster, or the Natural Stages of Acceptance

“When the accident occurred at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, specialists and military personnel — the so-called liquidators — filled the 30-kilometer zone around it,” says Denys Vyshnevskyi, who has led the Chornobyl Reserve’s scientific department for five years.

He adds that in the first days, efforts focused on reducing radioactive emissions from the damaged reactor and minimizing environmental consequences. 

“Ukrainian zoologists and botanists who began studying the Zone after the disaster developed a timeline of the ecological consequences of the catastrophe. They identified three stages, which we now refer to as shock, reset, and stabilization,” Vyshnevskyi explains.

Shock

The first stage, which lasted a few months, saw the most intense radioactive impact on the environment. 

“During this period, within a 10-square-kilometer forested area around the station — which bore the brunt of radioactive dust emissions following the reactor explosion — the pine trees began to die. Pine is nearly as sensitive to radiation as humans. The needles lost their chlorophyll and turned a rusty red color. This became the Red Forest,” says the scientist.

Reset

Then came the reset phase, which began in the latter half of 1986 and lasted until 1991. Vyshnevskyi describes it as follows: “Certain animals left Chornobyl, typically those dependent on human presence, such as the common pigeon and the house mouse. Some livestock animals perished due to being abandoned. Wild species moved in, replacing them, since they now had more space and less competition. This led to a gradual revival of typical Polissia [natural geographic region] wildlife.”

In some cases, domestic animals turned feral, a phenomenon still observable today. “A unique ecological experiment has unfolded in Lubianka, a village near the former town of Poliske. There, a man who kept cattle passed away, and his cows have now roamed freely for five years, living like wild aurochs along the river’s floodplain,” Vyshnevskyi shares.

Stabilization

By 1991, Chornobyl’s environment had reached a stage of stabilization and gradual recovery, where changes began to follow natural processes again. Vyshnevskyi notes that since then, the Zone’s ecosystem has started to resemble Polissia’s typical landscape.

Radiobiologist Olena Pareniuk recalls that around 2010, the Chornobyl Reserve experienced a surge in wild boar populations. “At that time, protection against them was installed. The animals would break through to the Zone and gnaw everything around them. And then, due to a plague, the number of wild boars decreased dramatically. For some time there were no wolves in the Zone, and then they appeared. It was incredible to see how nature changes and regulates itself.”

However, making conclusive scientific conclusions about how nature has adapted or why remains premature. Radiobiologist Kateryna Shavanova emphasizes that three decades of research are insufficient; at least another thirty years are needed.

In reality, long-term studies have been limited. Pareniuk notes that despite inspirational discussions about Chornobyl being an open-air laboratory, consistent funding, essential for any kind of research, has always been lacking for scientists studying the area.

“Studying wildlife, and especially evolutionary changes in wildlife, requires an experiment. Not a three-day laboratory experiment but an experiment throughout the entire life cycle. No one has ever conducted such research [there] because funding is only available now and then. Such things, however, require consistency. Therefore, unfortunately, no one can say with scientific accuracy how radiation affected the fauna of the Zone. We can only conclude that the animals have adapted,” explains radiobiologist Kateryna Shavanova, though she cautions that even this observation is not scientifically definitive.

In the absence of rigorous science, pseudoscience often takes hold. It plays into myths and rumors, abundant fantasies born of fear and ignorance.

Radiobiologist Kateryna Shavanova says that there are some unscrupulous scientists who have a fairly high citation index. However, the experiments of these scientists from different countries raise many questions: “They study, for example, two pairs of animals but make large-scale and ambitious conclusions. In fact, it’s freak research, which is then used to build conspiracy theories.”

The researcher also adds that in Chornobyl studies, it is crucial to factor in not just radiation but also climate change. 

“Yes, we can observe differences between animals in the Chornobyl Zone and those outside it. But we need to understand where these differences come from — whether they’re due to radiation or other environmental factors,” she explains. 

Olena Pareniuk emphasizes that it is also essential to accept the fact that nature does not always adapt. When animals moved, they were exposed to radiation, and the next generations could no longer be viable. In this case, we will not see adaptation: nature simply wiped someone out.

Chornobyl and War

“Sometimes I want to lament how the war affected Chornobyl. To lament the mining, the fact that the reserve suffered through the fighting… But then I remember how the chalk mountain landscapes in the east are being demolished, and I realize that complaining doesn’t seem ethical,” says Denys Vyshnevskyi.

He explains that although hostilities did harm nature, they did not destroy it. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed. Over the 36 days of occupation, russian forces looted approximately two million hryvnias’ worth of equipment, stole vehicles, and damaged facilities.

Estimating environmental damage from landmines, unexploded munitions, and forest fires is more challenging. In a report on the condition of the Chornobyl Reserve after the beginning of the full-scale invasion, its employees said that russian troops were quite active in the air over the protected area. The noise from planes and helicopters causes stress to wild animals. For example, it was reported that a nilgai antelope died in the Askania Nova reserve as a result of the invaders’ flights over the reserve, causing the exotic animal to crash into the fence of the enclosure.

russian military vehicles also traversed the reserve, and Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant staff reported russian tanks moving through the Red Forest. Likely due to this, on February 24, 2022, Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate detected a spike in gamma radiation near the plant.

Thus, since the liberation, Chornobyl has become a bizarre fusion of the military and the pristine. Where once there was an industrial-pristine mix, a third aspect has been added. “We visited Chornobyl in May of this year. The area is now well-prepared for defense — trenches, dugouts, mines… On the one hand, that is not what a reserve should be like. On the other hand, because of the strong defenses, the russians will not be able to break through from this direction again,” says Olena Pareniuk.

Still, researchers emphasize the importance of preserving Chornobyl as a conservation area.

“Polissia no longer exists as it once was. The swamps are drying up — climate change is doing its job. At the same time, however, swamps are an important factor that slows down climate change. Chornobyl is the area that is most strongly reminiscent of the authentic Polissia,” Kateryna Shavanova explains.

Moreover, the swamps also hinder enemy movement. Thus, restoring wetlands can enhance the defensive properties of the protected landscape in an environmentally friendly way. At least in this way, the war could have a positive impact on Chornobyl. Currently, it only causes destruction, hinders the development of the reserve, and prevents it from fulfilling its educational and research functions. 

Denys Vyshnevskyi says that the primary goal of the Chornobyl Reserve until 2006 was to overcome the consequences of the disaster. Then came the so-called empty era. Only in 2016, under the leadership of Vitalii Petruk, Director of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, a new concept was proposed for the development of the reserve: not overcoming, but using the territory. In particular, the Exclusion Zone was to become a research site and a place for testing radiation protection technologies.

All of this is about safety, and in this concept, the workers of the reserve identified the development of safety as the main task of the Zone. Back in 2016, they had no idea how right they were.

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 and last images: The Exclusion Zone through the eyes of airborne assault troops. Source: WAR CREW Telegram channel

“On February 22, 2022, we were in the park on an expedition. We had come to study the population of the Red Data Book species, Crocus reticulatus. It was so quiet,” recalls Oleksandr Khodosovtsev, an employee of the Kamianska Sich National Nature Park. “That was the first time we recorded a white-tailed eagle in the park, and by evening, we reached Puhach Cape. Around 4 o’clock, we set off for Kherson. Only 36 hours remained until the full-scale invasion.”

The invaders entered Kamianska Sich on March 9. After nine months, the Ukrainian Armed Forces drove them out of the steppe in the northern Kherson region, but the park remains under threat from russian forces on the left bank of the Dnipro. Enemy drones hover over the area, and combat engineers are clearing mines by the hundreds.

The park also bears the scars of the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam, as part of the former Kakhovka Reservoir’s water area used to be part of Kamianska Sich.

How has the war altered the landscape, and how does it continue to influence it?  What is happening in this nature park under constant fire? UAnimals Media spoke to the park’s researchers, who initiated its creation — Ivan Moisiyenko and Oleksandr Khodosovtsev. Both are professors at the Department of Botany at Kherson State University.

A Diversity of the Steppes

Most of Ukraine’s steppe reserves are located on the left bank of the Dnipro River and in the south. Kamianska Sich, on the other hand, preserves steppe ecosystems on the right bank in the northern part of the Kherson region. And what a steppe it is!

“This is an area of true, or temperate, steppe,” explains Ivan Moisiyenko. However, it’s not just that. On the south-facing slopes, there are fragments of desert steppe. Its natural zone in Ukraine stretches as a thin strip along the Black Sea. In addition, the park hosts species from the meadow steppes of the forest-steppe zone, such as Stipa tirsa and the European feather grass.

“Desert steppes are located 150 kilometers to the south, while the forest-steppe lies about 200 kilometers to the north. Yet all of these are present in Kamianska Sich! This is truly a unique diversity of steppes,” summarizes Ivan Moisiyenko.

The botanist is also proud of his discovery in the park: “During an expedition, I spotted an unusual grass. It turned out to be Psathyrostachys juncea. This is only the fourth recorded site in Ukraine and the first on the right bank of the Dnipro. Usually, Psathyrostachys juncea is found in the semi-deserts of Kazakhstan.”

Overall, about 500 plant species grow in the park, 10% of which are protected.

Why has the steppe survived here? Parts of it were once used as sheep pastures, so they were never plowed. The broad Mylivska and Kamianska ravines, with their limestone slopes where the Kamianka River once A meander is a curve in the channel of a river.meandered, also remained untouched. Ivan Moisiyenko and Oleksandr Khodosovtsev proposed to the government that this area be designated a protected nature reserve. They had been studying the steppe long before the park was finally officially established in 2019. Ivan recalls, “At first, the steppe seemed just vast. But as we started studying it, we discovered it was also incredibly rich!” And not just plant-wise. 

“That Mole Vole Ruined All Our Excavations!”

“Archaeologists were excavating a Late Scythian settlement. The site was riddled with holes, like Swiss cheese. They asked, ‘What’s been digging around here?’” Ivan Moisiyenko remembers when he was surveying the future park’s territory. The culprit was the endangered northern mole vole. “That mole vole of yours ruined all our excavations!” the archaeologists complained.

Kamianska Sich is home to a large population of mole voles, a small rodent that spends most of its life underground, feeding on the roots of plants. In Ukraine, it is classified as an endangered species.

Another creature that troubles archaeologists is the solifuge, a member of the arachnid family. “This unique species comes to us from the east, from Crimea, and can be found in Kamianska Sich. They look quite terrifying as they scuttle about!” Ivan says. “We had to hide from those solifuges during our expedition in Kazakhstan. They were huge, running around at night. I even saw them in Morocco. And now they’re here in Sich!”

Ivan Moisiyenko first encountered the solifuge in the Kherson region in 2017, and it was, without exaggeration, the meeting of the century. Together with his Polish colleagues, he documented the find in the Ukrainian Entomological Journal. While preparing the academic paper, they unearthed records showing that solifuges were last seen in the Kherson Governorate in 1886-1887. No one had seen them since — until 130 years later when a solifuge was encountered near Kamianska Sich!

The Park After the Invasion

The park was liberated from russian forces on November 10, 2022. On December 1, 2022, Ivan Moisiyenko and Oleksandr Khodosovtsev made their first visit back to the park after its liberation. They were greeted by tons of trash left behind by the invaders.

“We had heard about the ‘love for cleanliness’ of the russian military, but seeing it in person… It was shocking. There was an enormous amount of household waste; about 300 tons were removed from the park,” Oleksandr recounts. Nothing remained of the park’s property — its administrative building was in ruins. During the occupation, the russians took everything: office equipment, vehicles, and boats.

During their first visit, the researchers inspected the steppe slopes of the Mylivska ravine. On their second attempt to access the same area, the military blocked them, as the site had been remotely mined with “butterfly” mines, Oleksandr explains: “It’s still inaccessible because no one has cleared these butterflies.’”

On June 30, the scientists descended to the bottom of the former Kakhovka Reservoir for the first time. “The water had receded more than 10 meters vertically. It was like some kind of Martian landscape,” recalls Oleksandr.

Another remarkable discovery was the reappearance of the Kamianka River, which had existed in this area until 1956 and now flows again through the steppe. In the 18th century, a Cossack fortress called the Kamianska Sich is an administrative and military centre of the Zaporizhian Cossacks.Kamianska Sich, which gave the park its name, stood along its banks.

“Before, we studied nature. I [focused on] lichens while Ivan [studied] plants,” Oleksandr says. “We never thought we’d end up studying the impact of war on the environment. But from our first expedition [after the invasion], that’s exactly what we started doing.”

What Is Impacting the Park’s Ecosystem?

·       ALTERED LANDSCAPE

Explosions in the steppe have left craters—areas of Bombturbation is the disturbance of soil caused by explosions.bombturbation. russian forces also dug trenches and other fortifications on the slopes of the ravines. “The worst part is that a few trenches were dug directly in the untouched, virgin steppe within the protected zone. There aren’t many, but they’re there,” Oleksandr explains.

These fortifications alter the landscape of the flat steppe. Weeds quickly take over these depressions, making it difficult for steppe plants to grow.

“And it’s also a trap for animals. Burrowing animals dig into the trenches, fall in, and can’t get out — both insects and rodents. In Kamianska Sich, even a roe deer fell into a trench and died,” adds Ivan Moisiyenko.

According to park employees, restoring the steppe will require human assistance. Trenches need to be filled in layers: soil on top and limestone on the bottom. Seeds of steppe plants should be sown into the ground. However, this can only be done after complete demining.

·     MINES

“The impact of mining on nature is minimal. In some cases, you could even say it’s positive, mostly for the plant cover, since people can no longer access these areas for illegal activities. It provides temporary extra protection for the reserve,” Oleksandr explains.

However, in mined areas, no field research or monitoring can be conducted — only remote observations are possible. In addition, animals can trigger mines. Mines also cause chemical contamination of the soil that can persist for decades.

The park is being demined by its director, Serhiy Skoryk, along with six volunteer employees who underwent training to become deminers. They carry out the demining work partly on their own and partly in collaboration with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

As of early September, 639 TM-62 anti-tank mines were discovered and neutralized in the park. The workers handed them over to the National Police of Ukraine’s Tsunami assault regiment, which is part of the separate Liut (Fury) assault brigade. These munitions will be used to liberate the left bank of the Kherson region.

·     FIRES

“Fires that occur once every 5-10 years can even benefit the steppe, but frequent fires are harmful,” says Ivan. “Grassy plants generally aren’t affected by the fires; they have underground bulbs that allow them to regenerate the following year. However, shrubs suffer because their regenerative buds are located above the ground.”

According to the scientist, fires don’t cause catastrophic damage to the steppe itself. However, the frequency of fires has exceeded the “safe” limit. The area is constantly burning due to artillery fire or explosives from drones. While the park recorded only three fires in 2021, there were 26 in 2022, 34 in 2023, and more than 30 already in 2024, with the total expected to surpass 50 by the end of the year.

Oleksandr says that fire and heat affect different elements of the Lithophytes are plants that can grow on stones without soil cover. biotopes in various ways. He studies lichens: “If lichens are exposed to thermal radiation from an explosion in the early morning when everything is moist, they will die. We studied one such explosion site and found that within a 100-meter radius of the epicenter, the trees were alive, but the lichens on them had perished.”

On the other hand, lichens that grow on limestone are incredibly resilient. “We examined a crater in the rocky steppe after a Grad [rocket] hit and just a meter from the explosion’s epicenter, we found live lichens on the stones,” Oleksandr explains.

·    DAM DESTRUCTION

“In any case, the biggest impact on the park’s ecosystems came from the destruction of the [Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant] dam,” Oleksandr Khodosovtsev asserts. The landscape has since changed, and scientists now face the question: what will become of this territory? It was a disaster for aquatic ecosystems, which have simply disappeared. “However, the recovery of terrestrial ecosystems on the former Kakhovka Reservoir’s bed is happening at a rapid pace,” Oleksandr adds.

Many have heard of the willow thickets that have sprouted from the silt on the former reservoir bed. Even botanists did not expect nature to recover at such a pace. “But the slopes covered in meters-thick layers of dead shells are slow to regrow,” says Ivan Moisiyenko.

In his view, the spread of steppe vegetation to the slopes is being hindered by a strip of willows and reeds that grew along the former shoreline. Still, Ivan is confident that a so-called Lithophytes are plants that can grow on stones without soil cover. lithophytic steppe will eventually form on the shell deposits: “This is an ideal environment for such steppes. There’s no doubt that they will recover; it will just take time. If the war ended, we could launch a project to restore the lithophytic steppe.” This would involve mowing steppe plants and scattering hay with seeds onto the shell deposits. Otherwise, weeds will take hold first, slowing the steppe’s recovery.

In 2024, botanists visited the bed of the former Kakhovka Reservoir in the Zaporizhzhia region. The area was vast: the distance to the left bank was 15 kilometers. According to the researchers, the situation in the natural environment there is similar to that in Kamianska Sich.

It turns out that the willow thickets will soon become a forest. Previously, these thickets were only called a forest metaphorically, as a true forest has different layers. Now, those layers are beginning to form. Ivan explains: “This year, we observed a more complex plant structure and the development of layers. The tallest willows have risen above the herb layer — this is now the shrub layer; bryophytes have appeared, forming the moss-lichen layer. In our classification, plants taller than 5 meters fall into the tree layer. Next year, the tree layer will definitely appear, and a forest will have formed.”

The number of plant species on the former reservoir bed has also increased. During the first expedition, 11 species were recorded. During the second, 69 species were found, and in the third expedition to the Zaporizhzhia region, around 30 more species were discovered. In total, more than 100 species of plants have appeared in the area within a year.

Additionally, a protected species, rye sedge, was found on the former bed for the first time. “This indicates that the plant cover is acquiring conservation value,” says Ivan.

“They Directed Fire at Us”

Near Kamianska Sich, the Dnipro River is 4-5 kilometers wide, with its narrowest point being just 3 kilometers and 300 meters across. “You can see people walking [on the other shore] through binoculars,” says Ivan Moisiyenko. This area is easily reachable by russian drones and artillery, which regularly bombard the park. Despite this, the park’s security service and its director, Serhiy Skoryk, remain on-site, demining the area, monitoring fires, and keeping an eye on the water bodies.

Even in demined areas, research is impossible due to the threat from russian drones. Oleksandr Khodosovtsev recalls an incident in October 2023 when a reconnaissance drone hovered over him: “They directed fire at us. Five minutes after we moved away, they fired three mortar shells at that spot.” FPV drones, which are now frequently used, can be almost undetectable, and there isn’t always enough time to react. “The only defense against them is EW stands for electronic warfare measures that can jam drones.EW, but you can’t stay in a vehicle all the time — you’ll need to step out into nature. To properly document the vegetation on a monitoring plot, you need an hour. In that time, enemy drones will definitely spot you.” As for zoologists, they haven’t even been able to conduct research in the park, as their tasks require significantly more time.

At this point, the researchers are not only focusing on nature but have also begun collecting data on human activity. This includes the memories of park employees—nature protection inspectors — who, during the occupation, assisted the Ukrainian Armed Forces in destroying a significant amount of enemy equipment.

The botanists are also searching for information about the first Ukrainian soldiers who entered Kamianska Sich after its liberation. Oleksandr explains: “We want to learn the names of the fallen Ukrainian heroes who were the first to step onto the park’s steppe slopes and honor their memory. Unfortunately, their vehicle hit a mine, and they all perished.”

Reaching the Old Riverbed

Ivan Moisiyenko and Oleksandr Khodosovtsev are determined to continue their research, and they remain hopeful that, despite current conditions, they will be able to work directly in Kamianska Sich. So far, they have managed to visit the northern edges of two ravines, which were previously inlets of the Kakhovka Reservoir. Now, they aim to reach the Dnipro River’s course.

“I think Ivan Ivanovych [Moisiyenko] and I will experience a new emotional surge when we finally reach the Dnipro’s shore in Kamianska Sich,” says Oleksandr.

The researchers are particularly eager to reach the Dnipro’s original bank, which existed before 1956 and is now once again in its original location. They hope to explore the main riverbed and observe the liberated left bank of the Kherson region from the right side of the Dnipro. 

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.

At least $600 billion is the estimated cost of damage to Ukraine’s protected areas and biodiversity caused by russia’s invasion, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. However, the real loss far exceeds monetary value. It includes countless dead animals, devastated ecosystems, and stolen beloved places—places dear to each and every Ukrainian.

In this article, Ukrainian opinion leaders share their favorite places, which, because of russia, we have either lost or are losing right now.

Sasha Tab’s Crimea

“At Cape Aya near Sevastopol, I first saw bioluminescent plankton. We swam at night, and I couldn’t believe my eyes—my hands turned into some sort of neon light. These are incredible memories! Sadly, I haven’t seen this magical plankton again,” recalls Sasha Tab, vocalist of the band Kalush Orchestra.

Sasha was fortunate to visit Crimea several times in his youth, traveling to Yalta, Partenit, Koktebel, Hurzuf, Feodosia, and Kaihador (then known as Ordzonikidze).

The damage inflicted on Crimea’s unique nature by russians during the 10-year occupation is hard to assess. However, it’s known that military drills involving missile launches and bomb drops are conducted in the Opuk Nature Reserve. Additionally, illegal sand extraction has flooded about 10 hectares of the Bakalska Spit Regional Landscape Park. 

Many other russian crimes against nature likely remain undocumented, and we may only confront their consequences once Crimea is liberated.

“My best memories are about Crimea,” Sasha Tab says. “The younger guys in my band have never been there. That’s unfortunate. But I hope we’ll still have a chance to see these places.”

Nataliya Zhyzhchenko’s Chornobyl

“The last time I visited Chornobyl was April 26, 2021, at 1:23 a.m.—precisely on the anniversary of the disaster. I was there with the plant workers, and I brought my father. We visited the Shelter Structure and honored the memory of those who perished,” shares ONUKA lead singer Nataliya Zhyzhchenko.

From a young age, Nataliya was familiar with the details of the Chornobyl catastrophe because her father worked as a liquidator at the plant from 1986 to 1988.

“There’s history here, lessons to be learned, and sadly, they are repeating. Chornobyl has always been a source of pain for me, but also inspiration and awe.”

Nataliya has been to the Chornobyl zone about 20 times, doing internships at the power plant, filming documentaries, modeling for Vogue, and composing songs. As she puts it, Chornobyl allowed her to escape people and recharge.

After almost four decades of recovery, nature in the Chornobyl zone is once again under threat, this time from russia’s full-scale invasion. In 2022, Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate recorded elevated gamma radiation levels, likely caused by russian military vehicles stirring up radioactive dust.

“The nature there is unique,” says Nataliya. “The reserve is extraordinary because of the absence of humans and the environmental condition. When I was there, I saw a fox on the streets of Prypiat. I saw a moose and her calves when I stopped the car by the roadside. She looked directly into my eyes, assessed the situation, and simply walked away. Everyone [in the car] held their breath.”

The exclusion zone is home to many animals, including deer, roe deer, wolves, raccoons, wild boars, storks, lynxes, and bears. In total, over 300 species of vertebrates live in the area, 75 of which are listed in Ukraine’s Red Data Book of Ukraine.

“After all the harm humanity has inflicted on this area, it’s hard to imagine how else we could damage it. Nature will overcome this too. It will forgive this too. Unfortunately, but also, in a way, fortunately,” concludes Nataliya.

Anton Ptushkin’s Tuzly Lagoons

Blogger Anton Ptushkin’s memories of the Tuzly Lagoons are quite recent. In August 2022, he began filming a documentary there about animals during the full-scale war.

“We were filming the mass death of dolphins and cetaceans due to russian aggression,” Anton recounts. “I saw dead dolphins with my own eyes, lying on the shore.”

The Tuzly Lagoons, a group of saltwater lagoons [lymans in Ukrainian] in the southern Odesa region, are home to dozens of bird species, including some that are endangered. Despite the grim circumstances, Anton was struck by the beauty of the area. He was particularly amazed by the pelicans, noting he had never seen so many of them before.

This part of the Black Sea is also home to porpoises, one of the smallest cetacean species, including a unique subspecies known as the Azov porpoise [Phocoena phocoena relicta], which inhabits Ukrainian waters.

The natural park has been under enemy fire, with fragments of russian missiles found there. Anton was joined by a prosecutor investigating crimes against Ukraine’s ecosystem, who conducted autopsies on the animals to send samples to Germany and Italy to determine the cause of death.

“The park’s director, who has studied cetaceans for many years, believes that sonars and missile launches caused the mass deaths of dolphins,” Anton adds.

Anhelina Usanova’s Askania-Nova

“When I think of my time at Askania-Nova, I remember its peaceful atmosphere. But now, it’s far from a place of relaxation and connection with nature,” says Miss Eco International 2024 Anhelina Usanova.

She visited the reserve as a child during a nearby camp stay. She recalls reading about Przewalski’s horses and being determined to see them. Though she didn’t spot the horses, she saw many other exotic animals, including Caffra buffaloes, Chapman’s zebras, Père David’s deer, and American bison.

Today, these animals’ lives are in danger. We have previously reported on the fires in Askania-Nova, the largest occurring on August 22 and September 1, 2023. These fires destroyed plants listed in Ukraine’s Green Data Book. Since the start of the war, over 5,500 hectares of the reserve—nearly one-fifth of its territory—have burned.

Askania-Nova’s director, Viktor Shapoval, reported that three Caffra buffaloes died because the occupation administration failed to move them to winter quarters in time. Additionally, endangered species are illegally taken from the reserve to russia and Crimea, often to worse conditions where they lack the freedom they enjoyed in Askania-Nova.

A comprehensive assessment of the impact of russian occupation on the reserve’s ecosystem will only be possible after its liberation. After Ukraine’s victory, Anhelina plans to join a volunteer mission there.

“Our land will need a lot of work to restore everything, especially places as incredible as Askania-Nova. Its value cannot be measured in money, it is simply priceless,” she says.

Olha Martynovska’s Kinburn Spit 

“As a student, we used to vacation in Kobleve and Ochakiv, coastal towns near Mykolaiv. The Kinburn Spit was something like a foreign country for us, something exotic,” recalls Olha Martynovska, judge of the culinary show MasterChef.

One day, she and her classmates went to the spit that so “tenderly and delicately enters the open sea.” 

“After that, I had many foreign countries, islands, peninsulas, oceans, and seas, but this first one was like my first love. It stays forever, and the Kinburn Spit is a place of power for me.”

Now, Kinburn Spit is part of the russian-occupied territory, from which the mainland of Ukraine is regularly shelled. Fires frequently break out on the peninsula, and according to local residents, the invaders prohibit extinguishing them. Anticipating the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, russians have mined the spit, posing a threat to wildlife.

“When Ukraine liberates Kinburn Spit, I’ll go searching for the roe deer and hares I used to see there,” Olha shares her plans.

Polina Uvarova’s Kyianytsia

“I remember how in Kyianytsia, you could hear the birds’ songs so well that we would stop just to listen. Now, alongside the birds, KABs and Shaheds fly,” says travel blogger Polina Uvarova.

Kyianytsia is a small village in the Sumy region, just 30 kilometers from the russian border. Polina and her friends used to love visiting Kyianytsia to enjoy nature and tranquility.

“There’s a stunning architectural monument there—Kyianytsia Palace—and the nature is just incredibly beautiful,” she recalls.

The forest, with its many streams, abundant wildlife, and picturesque lake, is how Polina remembers this place. But now, due to constant shelling, locals no longer travel to Kyianytsia to unwind.

“After the victory, I’d love to return and walk the same paths. I’d look for the springs and stroll by the lake. I’d go to the local store, buy some coffee, sit by the lake with an ice cream, and just soak in the energy of this place,” she says.

Sasha Shabalina’s Dzharylhach

“Dzharylhach is a place that russia has stolen from me,” says comedian Sasha Shabalina. Dzharylhach Island is the largest island in Ukraine and the Black Sea. Sasha visited it in the summer of 2020. “YouTube convinced me to go to Dzharylhach: there were so many videos calling it the ‘Ukrainian Maldives.’ The videos showed crystal-clear water and wild animals.”

Sasha decided to go and was amazed by the natural beauty and the peacefulness of the wildlife. Right after arriving with her friends, they spotted a dolphin playing near the shore.

“There was this feeling that we were guests, and the true hosts—the animals—were nearby, so we had to behave respectfully. For the first time, I saw how people can show respect for both nature and each other.”

Since the beginning of the invasion, the russians have occupied Dzharylhach. Since then, the local ecosystem has been fighting for survival, as the russians are now using the island as a firing range. In August 2023, a fire raged on Dzharylhach for a week in the part of the island home to rare species. Endangered animals such as the steppe viper and the unique empusa fasciata, a type of praying mantis that can mimic a drop of water, were at risk from the flames.

Dzharylhach now faces the threat of being turned from a protected area into an industrial site and resort. In 2023, russian authorities permitted fishing, hunting, logging, and the extraction of clay, salt, oil, and natural gas. They also allowed the construction of hotels and restaurants in the national park. 

Additionally, the invaders built a land bridge between the mainland village of Lazurne and the island to facilitate access for military vehicles. Environmentalist and zoologist Pavlo Holdin explained that this artificial connection posed a threat to the Dzharylhach Bay ecosystem. Fortunately, the sea washed away the land bridge during a powerful storm.

“I think I would have removed that bridge with my own hands. It is ecocide,” Sasha Shabalina says in frustration. “I really want to believe that nature will heal itself. Since learning about the occupation of Dzharylhach, I’ve been dreaming of all the animals rising up to defeat the invaders, just like in the movie Jumanji.”

Cover Photo: Nataliya Zhyzhchenko in the Chornobyl Zone. Source: ONUKA archive and Vogue Ukraine.

Banner Photo: Animal autopsy in the Tuzly Lagoons. Source: Anton Ptushkin’s personal archive.

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.

In early May, a forest in the Chornobyl Biosphere Reserve became the scene of another tragic incident. Border guards heard an explosion near their post. When they deployed a drone equipped with a thermal camera, the image it captured was heartbreaking: a rare Przewalski’s horse, listed as an endangered species, had triggered a landmine.

This year, Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources stated that our country is the most heavily mined in the world. Forests, meadows, and waterways in the east, north, and south of Ukraine are not only littered with mines planted by the invaders; Ukrainian forces have also laid explosives to defend the borders.

Mines in Nature Parks 

Serhiy Kubrakov, director of the Desna-Stara Huta National Nature Park, periodically visits the ruined Desnyanka camp. There, he photographs an unexploded Grad MLRS rocket. “This rocket has been lying on the porch of one building for a year and a half,” says Kubrakov. “Fishermen have also reported unexploded Grad [rockets] stuck in the riverbank. This is what we’ve found. Who knows how much more is out there, embedded in the ground?”

A map reveals the extent of the danger: red zones mark areas that are mined or potentially dangerous, while yellow indicates possible mine contamination. 

Many nature parks and reserves fall within these red zones. In the Sumy region, for example, national parks like Desna-Stara Huta, Hetman National Park, and Trostianets, along with the regional Seymskiy Park, are affected. In Kharkiv Oblast, the Dvorichna National Nature Park is also under threat.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine notes that natural areas, regardless of their ecological value, are demined last. In liberated territories, deminers prioritize areas where people live first, followed by roads and critical infrastructure. Only afterward do they move on to agricultural land and, finally, forests, meadows, and water bodies.

Even if deminers were ready to begin clearing natural areas today, most of these places are accessible only to the military. Fighting continues in many forests and near river floodplains, making humanitarian demining impossible under fire.

The Desna-Stara Huta park stretches along the state border with the Russian terrorist state. It includes the floodplains of the Desna River, which are partially accessible to park employees. However, the Stara Huta forests along the border are heavily mined by both Ukrainian and Russian forces.

“There have been incidents where our border guards nearly triggered anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. Enemy sabotage groups frequently enter the area, setting up booby traps and planting anti-personnel mines,” Kubrakov explains.

The park is littered with not only mines but also unexploded ordnance. While there is no official prohibition from emergency services, Kubrakov warns, “You can head in any direction, but it’s a one-way trip. Besides the mines, there are also Russian saboteurs. Last year, they shot at a milk truck and killed 10 people, including pensioners.”

Another park in the Sumy region, Seymskiy, is constantly shelled from the Russian side of the border, and its riverbanks are reportedly heavily mined.

Dvorichna Park on the Oskil River in the Kharkiv region, adjacent to the border, currently lies in an active combat zone. “We have no access to the area; it’s constantly under fire. The extent of the mining is unknown,” said park employees.

The first park close to the front lines where demining has begun is Holy Mountains in the Donetsk region. Almost the entire territory was liberated in October. After demining, park management plans to plow firebreaks—strips of land cleared of brush and other flammable materials. This will help prevent forest fires caused by shelling.

Forests near the Belarusian border are partially accessible to park staff and visitors, but they, too, are heavily mined. Blueberry and mushroom pickers are warned by special signs, although some have tried to use them as firewood or even as stakes for their tomato plants. Nevertheless, most foragers stay clear of the dangerous areas.

Do Animals Trigger Mines?

“These incidents are not uncommon, though they don’t happen daily. Since the death of the Przewalski’s horse, we haven’t recorded any similar cases,” says Yuriy Shakhraychuk, a press officer with the 9th Border Detachment.

In February of this year, near Makariv in the Kyiv region, a moose triggered a booby trap. A similar incident occurred in May in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, where a female moose was killed by a mine, and her calf, despite the efforts to save it, also died.

“In 2022, we spent a week working with combat engineers near Bakhmut,” recalls an infantryman from the 30th Brigade who wished to remain anonymous. “The combat engineers were setting up tripwires throughout that time. Every night, some animal would trigger them. It could be a fox, a boar, or a hare. We were expecting an enemy advance, but by the time they attacked, almost all the tripwires had been triggered.”

However, documented cases of animals triggering mines are few, as it’s challenging to confirm what exactly happens in remote, mine-filled forests. “I’m always in touch with the military. They report that sometimes in the forest, where there are certainly no people, isolated explosions can be heard. It’s highly likely that wild animals are triggering these tripwires. No one would dare investigate an explosion in the middle of the forest, as it could cost them their life,” explains Serhiy Kubrakov, director of the Desna-Stara Huta Park.

Before the full-scale invasion, the park was home to bears, lynxes, capercaillies, numerous moose, and even occasional bison and deer. Whether these animals still inhabit the forests is unknown, says Kubrakov: “The entire territory needs to be surveyed. We don’t know how the fighting has affected animal populations, including rare species. Once we regain even limited access to these areas, such as along cleared paths, we can start drawing conclusions.”

Mines pose a threat not only in forests but also in water. From March 2022 to July this year, 68 carcasses of Black Sea cetaceans were found in the Tuzly Lagoons, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The likely causes of death include bombings and underwater mines. If the animals didn’t die immediately, they succumbed later from their injuries.

What Types of Mines Threaten Animals and When?

“The corpses of animals with limb or torso injuries are a telltale sign of a minefield, something all soldiers are trained to recognize,” says Yuriy, known by his call sign Ram.

Yuriy is a professional soldier. Although he’s not a combat engineer by training, he has learned just about everything about mine safety. He became an instructor in this field with the Ukrainian Legion, a civil society organization that has been teaching basic military skills since 2014. He explains the dangers that mines pose to living creatures in forests, meadows, rivers, and seas.

Not every animal that touches a mine or unexploded ordnance will cause an explosion. If a mine is pressure-sensitive, the outcome depends on the animal’s weight and whether it is walking or running. Each mine has an activation force (or sensitivity) measured in kilograms. For example, if a mine’s sensitivity is 5 kilograms, something weighing that much or more must press on it to trigger an explosion.

Pressure-Sensitive Mines

Yuriy shows pictures of deadly “tin cans” on his rugged military laptop. The international Ottawa Convention, which Ukraine has signed, prohibits our forces from laying anti-personnel mines. Russia is not a signatory to the convention.

Some of the most common anti-personnel mines laid by Russians in Ukrainian fields and forests are PMN and PMN-2, with sensitivity ranges of 8–25 kilograms. PMN-4 mines, with a sensitivity of 5–15 kilograms, are also frequently encountered. These mines pose a danger to many wild mammals, except the very smallest: hares (4–10 kg), foxes (3–14 kg), wolves (45–60 kg), wild boars (60–200 kg), roe deer (20–37 kg), and moose (360–600 kg). These mines can be dangerous for years before they are defused.

“Butterfly” mines (PFM) are used along the entire frontline. They are launched in large numbers from special dispensers and scatter randomly on the ground. Spotting a mine of this type is difficult: they are small, made of plastic, and even those who deploy them don’t know exactly where they land. While these mines usually don’t kill, they can cause severe bleeding and suffering. Their activation force ranges from 5 to 25 kilograms.

Anti-vehicle mines, which detonate under pressure, have higher sensitivity thresholds: the TM-57 mine requires 200 kilograms to activate, while the TM-62 series is triggered at as low as 120 kilograms. Some of these mines are cylindrical, while others resemble tin cans, similar to anti-personnel mines.

Anti-vehicle mines pose a threat to larger animals. “You won’t find these mines in dense forests, but they might be placed on clearings or roads,” says Yuriy. “If a moose decides to take a well-trodden path instead of trudging through the underbrush, it could be fatal.” These mines can also be set in steppe areas—anywhere without bogs or steep slopes.

Mines with seismic, magnetic, and infrared sensors are also used. These theoretically respond only to vehicles.

Mines with Tripwires

A tripwire is a wire or fishing line that connects a detonator to a tripwire-activated mine. Anyone who triggers the wire causes an immediate explosion. The tripwire can be set at a low level, where it might catch a crawling hedgehog or at shoulder height for a human. Any animal that exerts enough force to trigger the tripwire will most likely be killed.

Russians frequently use the OZM-72 mine, another elongated “can.” It is buried in the ground, with the detonator connected to a tripwire. This mine has a sensitivity of 500 grams. If an animal or person touches the tripwire, the mine jumps out of the ground, explodes in the air, and strikes the victim with shrapnel.

The most sensitive mine commonly encountered is the POM-2. These mines are deployed through remote mining systems, which scatter them across the ground. A tin can with explosives lands on the ground, with four tripwire darts falling around it. “They scatter chaotically; one might land on a tree, another on a flower, and one could just lie on the ground. You stumble on it, pull the wire with a force of 350 grams… Even a hedgehog can do that,” Yuriy explains. This mine has a self-destruct mechanism that should activate no later than 100 hours after deployment.

Mines in the Water

Anti-landing mines (YaRM) are grayish cans hidden beneath the water’s surface. They are equipped with a cross-shaped sensor, also submerged. There is little to no chance of spotting one. The trigger force for these mines is 600 grams. Mines like these can be found in the Dnipro River and its tributaries in the Kherson region, “The explosion causes a powerful hydrodynamic shock, killing many fish.”

Another danger in coastal areas or shallow waters is the PDM-1M mine. It is a semi-sphere with a rod that is usually covered by water. If the rod is displaced with a force of 18 kilograms or more, the mine will explode. “Over time, these mines can break free from their anchors and drift out to sea after a storm. The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant sent many mines into the Black Sea, where they drifted towards Turkey and Odesa. If a mine breaks loose, it will float like a buoy until it hits something. That could be a dolphin or a person who brushes against it with their hand or an oar.” At a few meters’ distance, the mine will kill anything nearby, while those farther away may suffer concussions.

Why You Shouldn’t Go Mushroom Picking in Former Combat Zones

“‘I won’t go mushroom picking in the forest,’ is an old combat engineer’s favorite saying,” Yuriy quips darkly. Until deminers provide a qualified assessment that an area is clear, entering it is off-limits, he warns. “There could be countless tripwires… Some might have been disarmed by the military, but others could have been missed. A mine might be buried in the ground, camouflaged by turf, grass, or branches, making it impossible to detect without special equipment. Plus, a soldier carries two tourniquets with them. But a mushroom picker goes with just a knife and a basket… If this person triggers a mine, they could bleed out in the forest. The phone might not work, there’s no tourniquet—and then what?”

While animals can trigger tripwires or set off anti-personnel mines, the primary danger mines pose is to humans, “If a mine is lying under the snow, a hedgehog might crawl over it without issue. But a person, thinking they can follow the tracks—’a hedgehog passed here, so can I’—will be in danger. The hedgehog weighs a kilogram, but a person weighs 80.”

There are also mines that can explode just by a person approaching them, like the POM-3 mine with a seismic sensor. For this mine to detonate, one doesn’t need to step on it or trigger a tripwire. The seismic sensor detects the vibrations from a person’s steps and activates the detonator.

When Will We Be Mine-Free?

Let’s take a look at the map again and find the Falkland Islands in the Atlantic. For two and a half months in 1982, a war raged between Britain and Argentina over control of these islands. The intensity of combat was lower than in Ukraine, and the Falklands’ area is almost 50 times smaller than Ukraine’s. Yet it wasn’t until 2020 that the UK officially declared the islands fully demined—38 years later.

Some mines self-destruct after a certain period. Those without a self-destruct mechanism will remain a hazard for years, “These things can stay in a ready-to-kill state for decades. Metal and plastic can take years to decompose. Even if something is done incorrectly and water leaks inside, it won’t affect the mine’s lethality,” says Yuriy.

When will it be safe to go mushroom picking across all of Ukraine? 

Predictions after the first year of the war estimated hundreds of years. As new technologies and vehicles have been acquired and more demining operators have begun working in Ukraine, those hundreds of years have been reduced to decades.

According to calculations by James Cowan, CEO of the Halo Trust is a charitable organization that performs humanitarian demining. HALO Trust, one day of fighting in Ukraine equates to a month of demining. So, for now, we are at least 75 years away from being able to pick mushrooms safely in the Stara Huta forest.

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.

“It was the end of the day, the sun was setting. Luckily, we were rowing: leisurely paddling along. Suddenly, we saw it sitting there! It was gnawing on something on the water lilies. It noticed us, too — the contact lasted about 5 seconds. Then it immediately dived and hid under the lilies.”

Zoologist Oleksandr Yemets, a researcher at the Seymskiy Regional Landscape Park, has been studying the desman for many years. He has seen it in the wild only once in his life, and he says he was incredibly lucky.

The animal is so rare that all possible conservation documents protect it. In the Red Data Book, it has the status of a relict species at risk of extinction.

Moreover, the desman is very cautious. Upon sensing an intruder, it will dive to the bottom, sealing its snout with special valves. Then, it might even relocate from the area where it was disturbed.

The problem is that in modern conditions, the desman is disturbed everywhere — and in Ukraine, it is almost extinct. The only population of desmans remains in the The Seym is the largest tributary of the Desna. In Ukraine, the river flows in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions.Seym and its two tributaries.

Now, this area has become a battleground: explosions can constantly be heard in the once-quiet backwaters. So, does the desman still live near the Seym, and what do we know about it? We discuss this as part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project.

The Russian Desman — The Oldest Representative of Modern European Fauna

The desman is a small mammal that spends much time in the water. Its lifestyle is similar to that of a muskrat, but by origin, the animals are not closely related. The desman is related to the mole. In the Talpidae family, which includes moles, there is a genus called Desmana. A single species of this genus still survives, the Russian desman, scientific name Desmana moschata. Once, there were many species of desmans, but we know this only from fossil remains.

The oldest remains of these animals, found in Europe, date back to the Miocene. This was an epoch in Earth’s history that began about 23 million years ago and ended about 5 million years ago. The animal world was quite different then. The desman lived alongside the ancestors of horses, rhinos, and immense mastodons. Humans as a species did not yet exist!

Therefore, the desman is a relict animal that has survived into modern fauna from pre-human epochs and is not well adapted to current conditions. It evolved into its present form 20 million years ago and has not changed since. Why change anything? 

It’s just perfect! Its four-sided snout is equipped with skin valves to prevent water from entering when it dives. It can comfortably stay underwater for four minutes. The snout is also convenient for digging in the mud at the bottom in search of food.

The desman’s eyesight is weak but quite sufficient for its lifestyle. It swims in dark thickets and is active at night. 

Its body is small, about 20 centimeters (~8 inches) long, with a similarly long tail covered in scales. At the base, it is round, but towards the end, it becomes flat like a boat keel, which is useful for swimming. The desman has developed webbing between its toes for better swimming. There are also fringes of fur along the edges of its paws that increase the surface area for paddling.

The desman’s toes on its hind legs are arranged quite differently from other mammals, being column-like — one above the other. This is not very convenient for crawling but excellent for paddling. Its fur is thick and silky, allowing it to stay relatively dry and creating an air cushion around it. Is this not perfect for aquatic life?

The desman favors An oxbow lake forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off.oxbow lakes, floodplain lakes, and even settles in river channels. The entrance to its burrow is underwater, but the burrow itself extends into the bank, rising above the water level. A desman family can dig tunnels up to 20 meters long, sometimes on multiple levels, in case the lower floors flood. The burrow is lined with plant matter.

The desman is not picky in terms of food: its diet includes both plants and animals. This includes mollusks, cattails, water lilies, insect larvae, leeches, and in winter, fish. During Soviet times, when desmans were kept in artificial conditions, they even agreed to eat cabbage and potatoes.

A Fragrant Animal

The largest populations of desman live on russian territory in the basins of the Volga, Don, and Ural rivers.

The English name — Russian desman — reflects this fact.  

At the same time, the name of this mammal, used in the Ukrainian scientific community, is not “Russian” but “that of Rus.” This name refers to the medieval Eastern Slavic state Kyivan Rus, which existed on the territory of modern Ukraine, Belarus, and partly russia. Throughout the centuries, variations of its name have been used by those claiming the inheritance of Kyivan Rus. Finally, in the 18th century, russia formally adopted this name. Both adjectives—which refer to the old Slavic state and to the modern country—are often mixed up in russian and even English.

Ironically, while called “Russian” in English, it is precisely the russians who are currently pushing desmans closer to extinction. 

In Latin, however, scent played a significant role. The genus name Desmana was adopted, meaning “musk.” The species name moschata also means “with a musky smell.”

Yes, the desman truly has a scent. Its glands secrete musk, which serves as a chemical signal to attract the opposite sex and lubricate its fur. This substance, whether of animal origin or synthetic, is used in perfumery, as musk is believed to induce arousal.

However, the desman itself is quite reserved in this regard — during the breeding season, it is monogamous! It creates a family and dwells only with its partner.

The Last Sighting of the Desman

In 2009 researchers estimated that about 300–500 desmans remained near the Seym and its tributaries. However, these figures are just an estimate: no thorough studies of the Seym’s desman population have been conducted.

Apart from Ukraine, there are small populations of Russian desmans in russia and western Kazakhstan. Although the desman once lived in the rivers of Western Europe, it is no longer found there. What led to its extinction there?

Hunting, among other factors, played a role. Recorded figures on desman hunting in russia show that 100,000 skins were sold annually before World War I.

The desman began to die out. During Soviet times, efforts were made to restore the population: The animal was caught and kept in artificial conditions, and various rafts made of brushwood and floating nest boxes from logs were even made for them. Then, they were released into rivers. From 1929 to 1940, desmans were also released in Ukraine, but they did not take root anywhere.

In Ukraine, the desman lived in the Dnipro River but went extinct in the 1930s.

It also lived in the Siverskyi Donets and its tributaries. The rare animal had a protected status as far back as 1928: in the Luhansk region, a “
“desman farm” called Kreminne was established in the floodplain lakes of the Krasna River. In modern terms, this was a nature reserve. Initially, the population increased, then fell back to its original numbers. The reserve was abolished in 1954 and turned into hunting grounds. Since then, desmans have occasionally been spotted in the Donets but gradually disappeared. It is believed that by the 1970s, the species was completely extinct in this river.

However, around the time when the desman nearly disappeared in the Donets, it appeared in the Seym. This was an artificially introduced population that, surprisingly, settled in well. The desman was released in the Kursk region in 1961 and found the Seym to its liking. The river originates in russia, flows through Ukraine, and empties into the Desna. The desman gradually spread downstream, inhabiting the Ukrainian part of the Seym in the Sumy region. The areas where the desman can live are now part of the Serednioseymskiy Reserve and Seymskiy Regional Landscape Park.

“The information we have about the Seym comes from recorded catches: people simply report that this animal was seen. There are photographs of desmans in the Seym tributary, the Vyr River — there was definitely a small population there,” says researcher Oleksandr Yemets.

Oleksandr himself encountered a desman in the Kleven River. This happened near the village of Lytvynovychi in the Konotop district on August 6, 2018. The zoologists were not expecting a desman at the time; they were out for a bird survey.

It seems this was the last recorded instance of a desman sighting in Ukraine.

Why There Are So Few Desmans

The animal is extremely particular about its living conditions. As soon as something doesn’t suit it, it leaves. If only it had somewhere to go…

Both natural and human factors threaten the desman. It is uncertain whether the animal will survive the new challenge — hostilities. So, what is endangering the desman?

• Climate Change

The desman is poorly adapted to temperature changes and may not survive droughts. 

Additionally, the animal spreads during river floods, which have been absent in recent years. “Its burrows get flooded, so it abandons them and follows the stream in search of new territories,” explains Oleksandr Yemets. “At such times, you might see a desman on some log or just floating in the water. The animal needs somewhere to sleep and eat, but its burrow is flooded! So, it leaves home. This is how it disperses. Have you seen the Seym flood? It’s an incredible sight: a sea of water under the spring sun, beautiful! Unfortunately, the last flood was about 20 years ago.”

• Agriculture

The desman is disturbed by the presence of people and livestock and gets frightened by sounds.

• Fishing

On the Siverskyi Donets, fishing contributed to the disappearance of the Russian desman. The animals got caught in nets, and people frequently visited the river with cars or used electric fishing rods, scaring or killing the animals.

• Wastewater

“During my years working in the Seymskiy Park, there have been two serious environmental disasters. Both were linked to russia,” laments Oleksandr Yemets.

On June 27, 2011, an accident occurred at the sewage treatment facilities in the russian city of Kursk. Wastewater is typically purified using activated sludge: a whole ecosystem of microorganisms that feed on substances in the wastewater, “cleaning” the water. At the Kursk treatment plant, these microorganisms died and failed to do their job. The untreated waste flowed into the Seym, reaching Ukraine.

“When this mass of poisoned water approached the dam near Tyotkino is a town in russia near the Ukrainian border.Tyotkino, instead of dealing with it on their territory, they opened the sluice gate and released the water into Ukraine. As a result, a colossal number of fish died here. The Ukrainian lamprey, a species of fish-like organisms that are protected by everything imaginable, was affected!” he exclaims.

The second major pollution incident occurred this year at the end of May. Once again, dirty water flowed from the north, killing fish.

Moreover, in 2012, at least four enterprises in russia were fined for discharging untreated wastewater into the Seym, and in 2023, the water utility company of Kursk, Kurskvodokanal, was fined for insufficiently treating the water that entered the river.

“Dirty water is a catastrophic situation!” Yemets laments. The water’s bacterial balance changes and the amount of dissolved oxygen drops sharply. This kills mollusks, reducing the desman’s food supply.

• War

Oleksandr Yemets predicts that the war will have the most significant impact on the desman population in the Vyr River.

The animals live in the river near the villages of Stari Vyrky, Novi Vyrky, Boyary-Lezhache, and Ryzhivka. “Right now, it’s hell there. All you can name is being fired there and exploding there. Nothing remains of poor Ryzhivka! And the desman was spotted near Ryzhivka, and it must still be living somewhere around there,” says Yemets.

It doesn’t necessarily take a direct hit to harm the desman population. Any animal flees areas where it is disturbed by noise and vibration. When a shockwave from an explosion hits water, aquatic organisms suffer from hydrodynamic shock. Simply put, they get shell-shocked. “If this happens regularly, it’s catastrophic for the animal. And this has been going on regularly for two years. The desman is a very cautious animal! It won’t stay where cows graze near the water. Just mere cows! And here, it’s shells!” 

Explosions not only make noise but also pollute the water, soil, and air, contaminating them with heavy metals.

Could the animal simply relocate downstream? It needs suitable living conditions, which are increasingly scarce. And it’s not just the war playing a role: sometimes farmers against the law plow fields right up to the Seym and other water bodies, which doesn’t suit the desman. Yemets concludes, “Where it used to live is now under bombardment. So it will definitely leave, but whether it will find a new place is a big question. The climate has changed significantly, the oxbow lakes have dried up. So the desman will look for A backwater is a place flooded by river or lake water during a flood, or a calm area of a river or lake. backwaters directly in the Seym. However, there aren’t many places that meet its living requirements.” 

How the Desman is Studied and Counted

Detecting the desman in the summer is difficult because the animal is nocturnal and lives among water plants and duckweed. Therefore, they are counted in the winter.

The method is as follows: when the water first freezes and the ice is clear, scientists walk on it and look down under the ice. They search for evidence of desmans. “Where there are burrows, there will be a trodden path — you can see that it uses this burrow,” explains Oleksandr. “Usually, shells gather near such burrows: the desman eats, throws out the shells while sitting in the burrow.”

The last serious studies were conducted in the Siverskyi Donets basin in 2001, but no desmans were found.

“We wanted to count the animals in the landscape park. However, organizing such an expedition is not easy. It’s very expensive and requires equipment. And now there’s a war,” laments Oleksandr.

In recent years, there have been at least a few recorded instances of desman sightings in the Seym. Now no one, except the military, can enter her habitat as the area is under frequent shelling.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine prohibits researchers from traveling by boat or kayak on water bodies; the shores may be mined.

Only nature conservation inspectors have the right to check the condition of the landscape park. They report that there are almost no nets now, which is good. However, no one knows if the desman still lives in the Seym. 

Can the Desman Be Saved?

Until the hostilities in the Sumy region end, it is too early to talk about preserving the desman. Oleksandr Yemets says, “This is the highlight, the trump card of our landscape park. This is an animal from past epochs! If the russians leave our land, we will conduct research. Then, it will be clear what can be done to preserve the population. And the situation will improve. We must preserve this unique animal, which remains here only in the Sumy region.”

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.

One blood donation can save three people. Last year alone in Ukraine, donors gave blood at least 14,000 times. So, over the years — even centuries — of blood transfusion history, millions of lives were saved. This was made possible thanks to animals, namely the first dog-to-dog blood transfusions. Let’s dive into history and learn about the risky and often inhumane experiments that paved the way for modern blood donation — lifesaving and safe.

Liver or Heart: How the Circulatory System Works

Imagine this: it’s the early 17th century. Copernicus has already shown that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Yet people still do not fully understand the workings of their own bodies, particularly the circulatory system. Since Ancient Roman times, the theory of Claudius Galen prevailed, claiming that the liver produces blood and distributes it throughout the body like a centrifuge.

But one man in the Kingdom of England set out to prove that these ideas were incorrect. This was physiologist and anatomist William Harvey. Observing the hearts of living animals, he realized that during systole (the contraction of the ventricles and atria), blood is pushed out. The scientist then demonstrated that valves in the veins allow blood to flow in only one direction — this is how the blood returns to the heart.

Ultimately, William Harvey hypothesized that blood circulates in animal bodies. In the eighth chapter of his book “De Motu Cordis” (“On the Motion of the Heart”), he explained it like this: “…through dissection of the living in order to experiment and through the opening of arteries, from the symmetry and magnitude of the ventricles of the heart and of the vessels entering and leaving… I had very often and seriously though about… how great the amount of transmitted blood would be [and] in how short a time that transmission would be effected… I began privately to think that it might rather have a certain movement, as it were, in a circle….”

Thanks to William Harvey’s research, he discovered and described in his research that:

• The heart contracts 1,000 times in half an hour, initiating blood circulation;
• With each contraction, approximately 6 grams of blood pass through the heart, with its total capacity being 43 grams;
• Blood moves in circles through the system of blood vessels in one direction (from the heart via arteries, and back via veins).

From the Theory of Circulation to the Practice of Transfusion

Following William Harvey’s discovery, the development of this branch of medical science accelerated, and by 1665, physician Richard Lower conducted the first blood transfusion between dogs. For this, he drew blood from a medium-sized dog “its strength was nearly gone” and then transfused blood from two large mastiffs.

The procedure was successful — an outcome tempting enough to try on humans. But there was a catch: at first, doctors experimented not with human-to-human transfusions but with… animal blood. Such attempts were bound to result in losses: animal blood cannot mimic human blood due to differences in the properties of red blood cells across species.

However, some studies found that, among tested animals, sheep blood most closely matches the viscosity of human blood. This explains the documented case of interspecies transfusion without fatal consequences: in 1667, French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys transfused blood from a lamb to a 15-year-old boy and a woman who had recently given birth. Both survived but suffered severe anemia. Not all experimental patients were so fortunate, and some cases resulted in death. Therefore, blood transfusions from animals to humans were soon prohibited.

From Practice to Understanding the Principles of Donation

In 1818, scientist and physician James Blundell performed the first successful and documented human-to-human blood transfusion.

Blundell’s patient was dying of postpartum hemorrhage, so to save the woman, the doctor used her husband as the donor. Between 1825 and 1830, James Blundell conducted 10 blood transfusions, but only half were successful. Why was the blood sometimes unsuitable?

It took science nearly nearly a century to figure out the concept of blood types and how critical they are for successful transfusion. We owe the most to Karl Landsteiner, who in the 1900s described all blood types and received a Nobel Prize for his discovery.

Notably, zoologists contributed to this progress as well. In 1875, one of them, Hermann Landois, discovered that when animal blood is transfused into humans, foreign blood cells “clump together” and break down in the blood vessels, releasing hemoglobin. Between 1901 and 1903, Karl Landsteiner noted that a similar reaction occurs during human-to-human blood transfusions. This can cause shock, jaundice, and hemoglobinuria (abnormal breakdown of red blood cells), as seen during early attempts at transfusion.

At first, this reaction was overlooked. However, in 1909, Karl Landsteiner classified human blood into the now-familiar types A (II), B (III), AB (IV), and O (I). He demonstrated that when blood type A is transfused to a recipient with the same type, blood cells remain intact. But if blood from another type — B or AB — is transfused, the red blood cells are destroyed. Additionally, there are universal donors: people with the blood type O (I).

This is just a brief outline of the journey toward a functional system of blood donation between humans. But let’s admit, we owe many of these great discoveries to animals. So why shouldn’t animals also benefit from science to live longer, healthier lives? Let’s explore blood donation among animals.

Blood Donation in the Animal World

Around the same time when human blood types were being studied, scientists were also researching dog blood types. However, a complete classification wasn’t achieved until the 1950s. For dogs, the DEA system (Dog Erythrocyte Antigen) is used, while for cats, the AB system is applied — somewhat resembling the human blood type system.

Animals that regularly participate in blood donation become true heroes. For instance, a dog named Woodie from Leicestershire, England, saved 88 dogs by regularly donating his rare blood type.

Entire blood banks are already being created to save animals. For example, the Pet Blood Bank operates in the United Kingdom. In Ukraine, similar banks exist based at research institutions, veterinary clinics, or municipal enterprises like Lev in Lviv.

However, due to a shortage of animal donors, scientists are also searching for alternatives to blood products. Currently, synthetic colloids and oxyhemoglobin are being considered, but they are not yet effective. For example, synthetic colloids cannot carry oxygen, and oxyhemoglobin has limitations such as high cost and limited availability. Additionally, this type of hemoglobin performs its function for only 3 days.

Therefore, while researchers continue their work, finding donors must be simplified. For this purpose, UAnimals created the Animal Donor Platform. Those whose cats and dogs can donate blood can register there, as well as those looking for donors for their pets. From there, the process works like a dating app, except the “date” happens in a clinic and is often life-saving for the animal.

The journey to inventing and perfecting blood donation was arduous, filled with mistakes and sacrifices. Let the knowledge gained save as many lives as possible — both human and animal.

Once known as the Grand Meadow, the ancient Ukrainian steppe, the area has become the bed of the Kakhovka Reservoir by Soviet engineers who built a dam. The recent act of ecocide by the russians, who blew up the dam, has been studied under the #StopEcocideUkraine project to understand how nature is recovering.

Seventy years ago, the floodplains, meadows, and steppes in the south of Ukraine were teeming with life, flourishing with wild vegetation, abuzz with birds, and home to various fish and reptiles. Between 1955 and 1958, Soviet engineers flooded this area to create the Kakhovka Reservoir, submerging a fascinating and diverse landscape that decayed under the water for decades. This stagnant water bloomed with cyanobacteria.

Despite the degradation, over 65 years, the Kakhovka Reservoir developed important A biotope is an area of land or a part of a body of water with a homogeneous relief and a range of living organisms inhabiting it.biotopes, mainly colonies of waterfowl.  

Additionally, a water supply system was built around the reservoir, providing fresh water to southern Ukraine.

In June of last year, the Kakhovka Reservoir drained due to the dam’s destruction by russian forces, exposing approximately 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles) — an area the size of 250,000 football fields. 

This raised concerns about the freshwater supply for parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and even Dnipropetrovsk regions.

The government plans to restore the reservoir. According to a government decree, during the war and for five years after, the Kakhovka area can only be used for restoring the reservoir and constructing hydraulic facilities. 

However, some ecologists argue this is a flawed idea, suggesting that a more valuable biodiversity area could develop in place of the stagnant water body.

In any case, realistically, reconstruction is impossible as long as most of the reservoir’s left bank remains occupied by hostile forces. Currently, nature is the sole designer and builder of the former reservoir bed.

Dnipro Floodplains. Photo by Viktor Petrochenko

Science Under Fire 

“It was just mountains of trash. We called them ‘horkulents.’ Whatever the russians ate, they threw away, plus they stole various items from the village: carpets, chairs, and tables. It was all lying out in the open,” recounts botanist Ivan Moisiyenko, co-founder of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, about his first trip to the reservoir shore. He arrived at the Kamianska Sich National Nature Park three weeks after Kherson’s liberation — on December 1, 2022.

The national park removed the trash, but trenches and dugouts left by the invaders still remain: for over a month, that territory was a battlefield.

Subsequent trips by the botanist to the now-former reservoir were not without danger, “My colleague and I were accompanied by park staff because the area was heavily mined: you need to know where to walk. The first time, we traveled along the Kherson-Beryslav-Marianske road (over the former reservoir). At the checkpoint, we were warned of the threat of FPV drone attacks. The next time, this road was already closed because FPV drones had been attacking civilian cars. We had to take a long detour.”

The very act of researching the area is highly risky. Being on the former reservoir’s territory means being within reach of russian artillery. Additionally, any movement could trigger a reaction from enemy strike drones.

“Research can be cut short very quickly — just as you’re starting,” says Vasyl Kostiushyn, a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences and a researcher at the Institute of Zoology.

This is how scientists study insects. Photo provided by Oleksiy Vasyliuk

Botanists at least have the chance to study the vegetation at the former shore’s edge or use aerial photography. Zoologists, however, need to venture deeper into the territory. Completing most tasks quickly is not feasible, explains ecologist Oleksiy Vasyliuk, head of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, “To study land animals, you need to set up special zoological traps of various types and inspect them every half hour. For a complete picture, insect studies are necessary. Different species fly at different times, so such expeditions need to be conducted multiple times. Many insects are nocturnal, and to learn about them, you need to set up powerful spotlights and use them for several nights.”

To observe large mammals, camera traps are placed along their paths, which first need to be located. “There is no information about the current state of the reservoir’s fauna. It’s unknown if zoological research can be conducted before full de-occupation,” adds Oleksiy Vasyliuk.

So, what have researchers managed to discover in the year following the catastrophe?

The Grand Meadow is Not Really a Meadow

The area filled by the reservoir in the 1950s is historically called the Grand Meadow (Velykyi Luh). Be careful, though, as the name can be misleading. Before the flooding, this area comprised not only meadows but also a network of channels, lakes, swamps, floodplain forests, and steppe fragments.

Oleksiy Valysiuk explains that, until the 1950s, this was the number one area in Ukraine for biodiversity, “Looking at the relief of this territory, one can assert that it housed the most diverse and dynamic landscape in Ukraine. It played a crucial role in global seasonal bird migrations. Since the 1920s, scientific and state institutions had been striving to create a nature reserve here.”

The Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, after studying satellite images, concluded that there is hope for the restoration of the channels and floodplains. The relief under the water’s surface hasn’t leveled out; it still retains the depressions of former floodplains and swamps.

Satellite image taken on July 15, 2023. Source Wikimedia Commons

Already, the Kamianka River, which had been buried under stagnant water for 65 years, is flowing through the area.

However, it is futile to hope that nature will regenerate exactly as it was before the reservoir, says biologist Vasyl Kostiushyn. “All the distributaries and floodplains form when the river is alive, meaning there are annual floods. But now the Dnipro’s course is almost nowhere natural: it’s entirely regulated by reservoirs. We can’t know if there will be floods,” explains the scientist.

He doubts that the Dnipro will be allowed to return to its natural course. Canals used to branch off from the Kakhovka Reservoir, supplying water to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, the Kryvyi Rih district, and, in the past, Crimea. Additionally, groundwater was connected to the reservoir. Part of the water from this reservoir reached wells, as the natural groundwater is brackish and unsuitable for drinking.

“Biological diversity is unlikely to be a priority. I hope the government will agree to at least an intermediate solution,” says Vasyl Kostiushyn.

The Institute of Hydrobiology has proposed such a solution: they want to separate the shallow northeastern part of the river from the reservoir with a dam. If this dam also regulates the water level, it could simulate a flood, explains the biologist. This would create meadow and floodplain biotopes: it wouldn’t be exactly what existed before the Kakhovka Reservoir was created, but it would resemble the previous landscapes of the Grand Meadow.

Floodplain with water lilies. Source: Grand Meadow National Nature Park

Vasyl Kostiushyn suggests, “I think this area will be a mix of open biotopes and sections overgrown with shrubs and new forests. Without water, it could become a desert.” On the bottom of the former reservoir, a whole tapestry of ecosystems could appear. What it will be like entirely depends on the water level.

The Victorious Willow and Valuable Steppe

The former reservoir bed has turned green with willows. This both surprised and pleased botanists: they feared it would become overgrown with alien species. The willow grew on the silt. But the willow shoots will still struggle for survival — over time, the thickets will thin out in this struggle.

Additionally, in the areas accessible to researchers, the petrophilous (rocky) steppe should have been restored — a valuable site for biodiversity not only in Ukraine but in Europe as well. Therefore, botanical expeditions studied the limestoneRock outcrops are bare, exposed rocks that are older than those that cover them. outcrops

on the slopes of the ravines. The steppe was slow to regrow, says Ivan Moisiyenko: 

“My theory is this. The steppe areas that exist now were separated from the reservoir by willow thickets, reeds, and shrubs. The steppes that existed before the reservoir and are now exposed are isolated from other steppe areas. The seeds of steppe species did not reach that limestone. We started looking for a place where the steppe almost reached the water. And we found it.”

There, researchers found about 10 steppe species. For example, they added the toadflax (Linaria macroura) to the herbarium. Ivan Moisiyenko says, “I believe the steppe will restore itself on the outcrops that were the reservoir’s bottom. But it will take some time for the seeds to reach them.”

Fans of the Current

In the final years of the Kakhovka Reservoir’s existence, about 46 fish species were recorded there, explains ichthyologist Yuliya Kutsokon. The reservoir was home to common roach, common bream, silver carp, and Black Sea sprat. However, the dominant species was the Prussian carp, “It made up about 70% of the entire catch. This is an invasive fish species,” says Yuliya. This carp, by the way, is not demanding in terms of water quality and can live in silted waters with low oxygen content. Most of its neighbors were also foreign to the Dnipro, artificially reproduced for fisheries.

Before the reservoir was built, the fish fauna in this section of the Dnipro was richer and more diverse, with around 60 species: beluga sturgeon, Russian sturgeon, Pontic shad, Vimba vimba, Black Sea roach, common nase, Alburnus sarmaticus, blue bream, white-eye bream, gudgeon, Dnipro barbel, weatherfish, burbot, Donets ruffe, and European flounder. In the reservoir, these species either disappeared or their numbers decreased so drastically that no one had seen them for many years.

“If this section becomes a river again, it will definitely have a positive impact from a conservation perspective,” says Yuliya Kutsokon. Then, populations of rheophilic fish — those that love currents — might have a chance to appear.

For instance, a current is needed for the spawning of sabrefish, says Yuliia: “Sabrefish needs a large river. Its eggs develop in the water column but must have a current; otherwise, the eggs settle and die.” Sabrefish is included in international conservation lists.

Additionally, species that migrated from the sea to the river could gradually reappear if any remain either in the lower Dnipro or its tributaries. “Desna, for example, is a powerful place for preserving many rheophilic populations. It has an interesting fish, the common nase. The Sluch has the Dnipro barbel — now an extremely rare fish listed in the Red Data Book. Perhaps something will return here as well.”

Among mammals, beavers and river otters, which still live below the former reservoir, may come to the floodplains.

And What About the Land?

The animal world will depend on the tapestry of biotopes that form. Open water and shallow areas will attract waterfowl, says Vasyl Kostiushyn. If it is dry, the area will host larks and wheatears; if there are bushes, warblers and various passeriformes will appear; if forests develop, thrushes, woodpeckers, and birds of prey will settle there.

“Foxes might already be exploring these areas. The wild boar — an undemanding animal — uses everything from reed ponds to ancient forests,” says the biologist.

What the fauna of the Grand Meadow was like before the flooding is not precisely known, says Oleksiy Vasyliuk, “There is no paper that properly describes this area, nor is there any living zoologist who remembers the territory before the flooding.”

The Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group hopes to organize zoological expeditions as soon as it becomes possible. They promise to publish more detailed studies about the state of the animal world on the bottom of the former reservoir and the prospects for the Grand Meadow.

Main photo: Kamianska Sich National Nature Park in August 2023. Vegetation on part of the riverbed. Photo by Serhiy Skoryk

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.

“I saw a Facebook post by a veterinary clinic about a blind kitten that had been brought in to be euthanized. I couldn’t sleep all night thinking about Mokh and finally decided to take him. He was my first pet with a disability. I didn’t know what I would do with him at home — I was scared,” shares Iryna Yakymenko.

Now, she has eight cats, half of them with disabilities. Two have coordination disorders, another has only three legs, and one cat, Mokh [which means moss in Ukrainian], the one saved from euthanasia, is both blind and deaf. He’s now 11 years old.

Caring for animals with impaired vision often involves rescue stories. People find an animal on the street that has developed an eye infection and can’t leave it to die. This was the case with the kitten in Kateryna Semeniuk’s family.

“I hesitated for a long time about getting a pet. But fate brought me the cat I was ready for. My boyfriend’s mother found her as a kitten, and she already had eye problems,” recalls Kateryna. Due to the infection, small Savannah had to have an eye removed. After the surgery, Kateryna and her boyfriend took her home.

Kateryna says she had considered adopting an animal with a disability from a shelter even before Savannah, “Most people are hesitant to take home an animal with disabilities. But it gives you the opportunity to become a better person. All animals deserve love.”

However, caring for an animal with impaired vision isn’t always a family’s choice. Sometimes, after many years together, blindness can develop with age. If this happens it’s essential to show responsibility and love, never abandoning a sick animal. 

Yuliya Vedmova had a healthy and active dog — a spaniel named Lola — for seven years. Then Lola developed an ear infection, and Yuliya immediately took her to a veterinary clinic. It turned out that the clinic was only reducing Lola’s symptoms without treating the cause. Another clinic later informed Yuliya that Lola needed an ear removed. However, even more problems arose after the surgery.

“A red lump appeared on her eye. The vet said it wouldn’t affect her vision. But one day, during a walk, I noticed that Lola didn’t understand where to go. I was shocked. We started looking for other vets again,” says Yuliya.

Eventually, another clinic discovered the inflammation, but it had already caused irreversible changes. Lola lost her sight.

“Lola was suggested to have her eyes and another ear removed for aesthetic reasons. We didn’t want to torture the dog for the sake of appearance,” recalls Yuliya. “One woman even asked if we wanted to euthanize the dog. My husband replied, ‘I won’t put down a healthy dog.’ She eats, plays, and sleeps like any other dog.”

Causes of Vision Impairments in Animals

Olena Kuznetsova

Dr. Olena Kuznetsova, an intensive care and resuscitation specialist at the Hels Veterinary Medicine Center, explains that problems with any ocular structure can affect vision — eyeballs, eyelids, tear glands, eye sockets, muscles, and nerves. These can be congenital conditions, traumatic incidents, or infectious systemic diseases.

Congenital issues include developmental anomalies and breed-specific traits. A prominent example of breed-related vision problems is the heavy, drooping eyelids of shar-peis and sphynxes, which can cover the eyes.

“Among developmental disorders leading to eye problems, the most common are microphthalmia and anophthalmia, which are underdevelopment or complete absence of one or both eyes. In particular dogs with the currently popular merle coat pattern can inherit these issues,” says Olena.

Certain dog breeds, including pugs, shih tzus, and others with unique eye socket structures, are at higher risk of severe eye injuries.

“Eye injuries are a common reason for veterinary visits,” Olena notes. “These can include scratches from claws or bites, bruises from collisions with bicycles, cars, or other vehicles, and foreign objects in the eye such as splinters, insects, or plant thorns.”

Some infectious diseases also affect vision. Olena provides examples: “Herpes in kittens can cause not only inflammation but also complete eye destruction. Diseases like ehrlichiosis in dogs, feline infectious peritonitis, or feline immunodeficiency can damage specific ocular structures and blood vessels and cause chronic pain.”

Lastly, age-related vision deterioration in animals, such as cataracts or glaucoma, can result from the aforementioned causes.

Olena advises pet owners to be attentive to their animals to detect early signs of vision problems. Seek veterinary assistance if you notice a change in eye color, confusion, stumbling, or bumping into objects.

“In addition to a general clinical and ophthalmological examination, additional diagnostics are needed to identify the root cause and understand how the disease progresses. The vet will ask many questions, and it might seem like they are unrelated to vision. However, please provide complete and accurate information — sometimes it can substitute the need for tests,” Olena says.

When Ears Are Eyes and Nose: How Blind Animals Cope

There are three animals under Darya Buhayevska’s care: a dog, a cat, and a kitten. The first family member was a dog named Busia, and two years ago, Darya adopted a cat named Vanga from a dog shelter.

“My husband and I sometimes visited the dog shelter to help out. One day, someone left a cat with kittens there. We looked at her, and Vanga immediately touched our hearts with her uniqueness,” Darya recalls.

Vanga is indeed unique: she is blind, her front legs are shorter than her back legs, and she has no tail. Vanga has only a part of one eye left; she lost the rest due to an infection or injury. That’s what the doctors that Darya consulted suspected. Darya had long hoped that Vanga would regain some vision, but her hopes were dashed. However, Darya says Vanga leads a full feline life even without her vision.

“Blind cats respond very well to sound: their ears are their eyes. Vanga almost never bumps into anything and can climb onto the couch on her own. She uses the litter box perfectly and knows where her dish and the dog’s dish are. She even catches sparrows! And her most mysterious ability is finding boxes. As soon as a box appears in the house, Vanga is in it within 10 seconds,” shares Darya.

Iryna, Mokh’s caregiver, notes that animals with impaired vision have a well-developed sense of smell, which helps them navigate their environment. Mokh finds the toilet, water, food, and toys through his sense of smell.

“Compensation of sensory functions through other senses is a crucial survival mechanism,” says the veterinarian. “However, owners should not rely solely on this. We must maintain the quality of life of a sick animal at a proper level. They are only part of our lives, but we are their everything.”

“A Little More Attention”: How to Care for Blind Animals 

“Mokh was initially sickly, but not because of his blindness. Even animals without vision impairments have their health issues. Now, Mokh and I have annual blood tests to determine if he needs vitamins or special food,” says Iryna.

Concerned about her cat’s comfort, Iryna researched how to care for blind animals. She found out that it’s important to limit the space so the animal can gradually get used to the home. At first, when she was leaving home, Iryna used to designate an area for Mokh in the apartment with napkins and a small fence.

“Anyone considering a pet with impaired vision must understand that the cat will initially have difficulty finding its way around. Sometimes, they might meow loudly when lost, but this is temporary. I also avoid sudden movements to prevent stress. I approach Mokh slowly, let him sniff my hand, then start petting him before picking him up.”

On the other hand, Darya says there’s usually no need for special accommodations for her blind cats. After adopting Vanga, the family also took in Liokha, a kitten with an eye infection that Darya found near the dumpsters. Both Vanga and Liokha rarely bump into things. If they do, they adjust their route for next time.

When the family moved to a new two-story house, they worried about the cats navigating the open staircases, fearing they would fall down if they were not careful. “We entered the house and immediately placed their paws on the stairs so they could feel them. It took just a minute. Now the cats run up and down the stairs without any falls,” Darya recalls.

To create a comfortable environment for blind animals, Olena Kuznetsova advises, “Close your eyes and think about what would be convenient for you in that state. This helps you understand the sick animal better. Of course, everything must be in its place, remove obstacles on the way to the water bowl, food, pads, and resting areas. Let everyone who visits know about this. During walks, keep the animal on a short leash. It’s preferable to walk in secluded areas.”

For animals with one eye, Dr. Kuznetsova says they adapt quite well, but there’s always a risk of not seeing something. Kateryna confirms, “Sometimes, Savannah bumps into surfaces, especially when she’s very playful. But she’s very active. She even jumps from door to door when they’re open. I’ve never even seen a two-eyed cat do that!”

However, the vet emphasizes the importance of daily hygiene for one-eyed animals, “Consult your vet for proper care instructions. And no wiping with tea!”

As for Lola, who lost her sight at 8 years old, Yuliya used to take her for frequent check-ups post-surgery, but it’s no longer necessary. Occasionally, the dog receives injections to reduce inflammation and is given moisturizing eye drops. Yuliya also takes Lola for grooming every three weeks, where she gets washed, trimmed, and her ears cleaned. Yuliya noticed that after losing her sight, Lola needs a bit more attention and tactile interaction:

“We sleep in the same bed. Before, Lola would come to me on her own, but now I carry her to the bed. She snuggles up to me and falls asleep. When I cook, Lola leans against my leg and sits there. We do everything together.”

Like any other, animals with visual impairments can be just as fluffy (or not), calm or mischievous, affectionate or independent. They, too, need caring and responsible caretakers.

More than 26,000 people have signed a petition from UAnimals to the United Nations and the European Parliament “Stop Ecocide in Ukraine: Punish russia for the Crimes against Environment.” Oleksandr Todorchuk, the founder of UAnimals, had created it even before russians committed the largest act of ecocide during the full-scale war — the destruction of the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.

Signatures for the petition are still being collected. However, Ukrainian law lacks tools to hold an entire state accountable for ecocide, and the legislation of the European Union does not even include the concept of “ecocide.” Read further in our article to find out what legislative tools will help punish russia for environmental crimes.

Ecocide in Ukraine: Law and Reality

Article 441 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine states that ecocide is “the mass destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning of air or water resources, and also any other actions that may cause an environmental disaster.” Can it be argued that, according to this definition, russians have been committing ecocide with their military actions in Ukraine since 2014? To answer this, let’s recall the consequences for Ukrainian nature.

In Crimea, which has been occupied since 2014, russia is causing harm to the environment, violating international law on the management of occupied territory, primarily the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. The occupying power must preserve the natural environment in the captured territories. Instead, russia has nationalised all nature reserves in Crimea and abolished the Ukrainian laws, introducing its own ones. For some reserves, the russian authorities have terminated their protective status, giving access to visitors, while allowing deforestation and developing infrastructure for military bases.

Following russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the threat to the ecosystem has increased even more. The polluted area of the Black Sea has extended to the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv (before the full-scale invasion, the Black Sea was mainly polluted by pharmaceutical products and pesticides from agricultural land). Shelling of the infrastructure of the Odesa port by russians led to the leakage of hazardous chemical cargo and fuel into the water. And dolphin populations are dying due to sea mining.

The russian army also damaged such industrial enterprises as Azovstal, Avdiivka Coke Plant and Lysychansk Oil Refinery through bombardments. It is currently impossible to assess the consequences of the damage and losses to the ecosystem due to the occupation of parts of Ukraine.

On June 6, 2023, russian forces blew up the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. russians flooded 5 settlements and over 63 thousand hectares of forest. The final consequences of this tragedy will only be possible to establish after the de-occupation of the affected regions in southern Ukraine. Ukraine considers this catastrophe as a war crime by russia against Ukraine and an act of ecocide.

However, Yulia Ovchynnykova, a Ukrainian MP from the Servant of the People party, PhD in Biology and an expert of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Environmental Protection through Criminal Law, comments to UAnimals that holding russia accountable for ecocide requires changes in both national and international law.

“Article 441 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was introduced in 2001 — it has remained unchanged for 22 years. There are many evaluative concepts: mass destruction, air poisoning, environmental disaster. Therefore, we need to carefully and professionally review the national legislation,” explains Yulia Ovchynnykova.

Meanwhile, lawyer Sofia Shutiak believes that Ukrainian legislation, including Article 441 of the Criminal Code, will not help to hold russia accountable as a state — only individual russian officials.

“To hold states accountable, one should turn to international law. Typically, there must be a series of conditions for this: primarily, international legal obligations between two or more states. For example, the UN Charter obliges countries not to wage war and to resolve all issues peacefully. There should also be action or inaction by the responsible state that violates this obligation. Since 2014, russia has covertly and since 2022 has openly interfered with Ukraine’s borders and has been killing Ukrainian citizens — both civilians and military. And finally, this action must result in loss or damage. There are many such losses and damages due to the war,” explains Sofia Shutiak.

In his speech at the G20 summit in 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the preparation of a platform to assess the damage caused to Ukraine’s ecosystem by russia. Moreover, in the Peace Formula, a Ukrainian initiative to end the war, the president speaks about creating mechanisms to counteract ecocide and holding russia accountable for committing this crime. This could become a significant precedent for future similar processes worldwide.

“What’s important is that there are several steps at the international level. The first (and main) one is the 8th point of the Peace Formula — actual counteraction to ecocide and immediate protection. Thanks to the president, almost the entire world has paid attention to this issue, and it was a real driver for further action,” explains Yulia Ovchynnykova.

Ecocide in International Law: from Uncertainty to a New Vision

During the negotiation process with the European Union, Ukraine will adapt its legislation to European standards, in particular those related to the environment. The EU’s environmental policy is aimed at preventing environmental damage. It is based on shared responsibility, integrating environmental protection into all spheres of life, and the polluter pays principle.

However, the concept of “ecocide” does not exist in European law. Only this year, the European Parliament adopted a directive criminalising “cases comparable to ecocide” — actions that cause widespread, substantial and irreversible or long-term damage to large ecosystems, habitats or the quality of air, soil or water.

Some European countries independently introduce the concept of “ecocide” into their legislation. Ukraine can use their developments to update its own law on ecocide. According to Yulia Ovchynnykova, the Belgian law on ecocide could serve as an example for legislative updates. The Belgian government approved this draft law recently, in 2023. From now on, Belgium defines ecocide as “serious, widespread and long-term damage to the environment caused by unlawful actions.”

The key phrase in Belgian law is precisely the last one: “damage to the environment caused by unlawful actions.” This means that one can be held accountable not only for waging war, but also for any other unlawful actions resulting in an environmental disaster.

Scotland began considering a bill to criminalise ecocide in 2023. The authors of the bill propose punishment for “serious violations”, i.e. for adverse impacts on human life or natural, cultural or economic resources. The extent of the damage spread is also important, that is the violation should affect other territories, cross state borders and potentially harm an entire ecosystem or species.

“Ecocide is any activity that can lead to an environmental disaster. That’s why large companies, businesses and authorities resist [legislative changes]…,” explains MP Yulia Ovchynnykova. According to her, it is necessary to create a system where destroying the environment is detrimental to one’s reputation.

Stop Ecocide International Foundation has also developed a concept for defining ecocide to incorporate this crime into international law, including the Rome Statute. Their definition will be adapted to the national legislation of countries that have decided to criminalise ecocide. Among them are Belgium and Scotland.

Yulia Ovchynnykova also believes that Ukraine should pay attention to the concept developed by Stop Ecocide International: “We will adapt our legislation, so we need a single definition that will be used in European countries. The European Union mostly accepts it. The Prosecutor General’s Office considers this definition to be close to our needs.”

Retribution for ecocide: experience and instruments of influence

Despite the absence of the concept of “ecocide” in the Rome Statute and the complexity of proving this violation, precedents for holding accountable for environmental crimes already exist in international law.

In 1991, troops under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. Kuwait, along with other Persian Gulf countries, immediately filed a lawsuit with the UN International Court of Justice to be compensated for damage caused by the oil spill in the Gulf waters when Iraqi forces damaged a tanker there. That year, the UN established the Compensation Commission to process claims against Iraq, including those for environmental damage. The Commission completed its work in 2005. According to its calculations, the total compensation amount to the victims exceeded $52 billion.

The compensation was paid to the victims by the UN Compensation Fund, which received a percentage from the export sales of Iraqi crude oil and pertroleum products. The final payment was made in January 2022. In February of the same year, the UN dissolved the commission.

This case can be an example for Ukraine, Environment. People. Law public organisation believes.

“… Ukraine should appeal to the UN and the Security Council to adopt relevant resolutions condemning russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine and to establish a subsidiary body to compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine. Ukraine should also demand the creation of a special fund to pay compensation to the state, legal entities and individuals affected by russia’s aggression,” the organisation’s statement reads.

Changes in international law will speed up the process for Ukraine. After the introduction of the concept of “ecocide” into the Rome Statute, this crime will be criminalised, and offenders will be arrested and tried in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In order for ecocide to be added to the Rome Statute, states that have ratified the statute must propose this amendment. Ukraine has not ratified the Rome Statute but is obliged to do so as part of the negotiation process with the European Union.

In February 2024, the European Parliament approved a new directive on environmental crimes “comparable to ecocide” and the corresponding punishments for them. The new directive qualifies offences such as large-scale forest fires or widespread pollution of air, water and soil leading to ecosystem destruction. Qualified crimes will be punishable by eight years in prison, those that result in the death of a person — by ten years in prison, and other offences — by up to five years in prison. For companies, fines will range from 3 to 5% of their annual global turnover or alternatively 24 or 40 million euros depending on the nature of the offence.

Moreover, in October 2023, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on the impact of armed conflicts on the environment. The resolution calls for ecocide to be recognised as a crime in national legislation and international law. The resolution also defines that “serious damage or deterioration of the state of nature, which may be qualified as ecocide, may occur in peacetime or wartime.”

PACE resolutions are not binding, and they are used as guidelines by other organisations and member states of the assembly for adapting their own legislations.

Yulia Ovchynnykova believes that comprehensive actions of international organisations, PACE and the European Union will help to criminalise ecocide in international law.

“Such postulates as the President’s Peace Formula and the high level group of the International Parliamentary Alliance are efforts to promote the criminalisation of ecocide and its recognition at the international level,” summarises Yulia Ovchynnykova.

What to do if your dog is all but breaking off the leash when it sees other animals, growling, barking and trying to bite? Why does the dog behave this way and what to do about this? We asked Maryna Boiko, a dog handler, Daryna Vasylchuk, an animal psychologist and an expert in canine behaviour, and Yuliia Marunych, a licensed dog handler instructor of the highest category in the Ukrainian Kennel Union, as well as the founder and director of Humans & Dogs Dog Training Centre.

What is animal aggression

Our experts explain that the term “animal aggression” is a contextual one, as it can mean a number of different things. Most often, specialists use it to refer to the aggression that a dog displays towards other animals. There are also those who apply this concept to aggressive reactions of dogs towards people. And some believe that animal aggression can occur not only in dogs, but also in other animals,  including cats.

“In general, animal aggression is the aggression of one animal towards another, which can be caused by many different reasons. It can be territorial aggression, when a dog doesn’t want anyone to enter its territory, or sexual, when a dog does not get along with members of the same sex, or just a reactive response to a stimulus,” explains Maryna Boiko. “But currently, there is no clear definition for this phenomenon.”

Daryna Vasylchuk thinks that it is worth distinguishing between animal aggression and certain peculiarities of the animal’s behaviour. For example, if a dog reacts to representatives of a specific breed or to all large dogs, or regularly attacks cats while leaving other animals alone, this is not animal aggression. These are individual reactions that can be corrected if the owner is willing to do so or needs it. This will not be “working with an aggressive dog”, but working through a reactive response.

Experts advise owners against calling their pets aggressive ahead of time. Instead, they recommend trying to understand the reasons for this behaviour.

Causes of animal aggression

There are a lot of reasons for dogs to display aggressive behaviour. In order to understand what affects your dog without provoking aggression yourself, before adopting it’s important to consult specialists and acquire basic information about dogs in general and about the specific breed, if the dog is a purebred. You need to understand the peculiarities of your dog’s development, its age-related crises and how they manifest, how its nervous system develops, how to feed the dog, etc.

Yuliia Marunych thinks that one of the main errors made by dog owners is that they do not turn to dog handler instructors in time. Even in order to visit one of them if there are problems, you need to understand when something is going wrong.

If you suspect that your dog displays animal aggression, specialists will collect as much information as possible about the dog: how it was adopted into the family, its health, what it eats, etc. It’s also important to observe how the owner treats the dog in different situations. Only then can a dog handler or animal psychologist draw conclusions and start selecting individual correction methods. Among the most common causes of animal aggression, the experts list the dog’s pain and fear, anxiety of the owners and their mistakes when raising an animal.

Pain

It is natural to defend yourself from pain and try to prevent it from getting worse. In dogs, perhaps the most effective way available is what people usually consider to be a manifestation of aggression. A dog may first bare its teeth, then growl, and if these signals don’t work, it may even bite. So when your pet starts showing signs of aggression, especially if it was rare before, you should visit a vet clinic. In fact, any sudden changes in the pet’s behaviour, not only aggressive ones, are the reason to make an appointment. 

“The first question I ask people who come to me because their dog is behaving aggressively is whether they have been to the vet, had an ultrasound and a clinical blood test. In most cases, the aggression disappears after treating the cause of the pain,” says Daryna Vasylchuk.

Aggression can also be provoked by pain caused by a human or another animal: tugging, pulling, beating. So it’s worth analysing and correcting your own actions.

Daryna notes that pain can be caused even by a regular dog collar, if the dog is not trained not to pull at the leash. The expert recommends picking out an anatomical harness for walking your dog.

Maryna Boiko emphasises that it’s important not only to choose the right equipment to fit your dog’s individual anatomy, but also to put it on correctly. A dog collar should be fixed under the dog’s chin so that it fits tightly enough — there should be room for two fingers between the collar and the neck. Maryna also thinks that a harness might not be the best fit for everyone, so it’s important to consult experts when picking out accessories for your pet.

“If a dog is pulled on a collar or tugged at from a young age near another animal or, let’s say, children, it forms an associative bond with the animal: when these objects get close to me, I feel pain and should defend myself,” explains Daryna Vasylchuk.

Our experts also believe that the mindless use of special equipment (choke or electronic collars, noose collars), that is still used for correcting animal aggression, can be considered animal cruelty. The Ukrainian law provides for punishment for this.

“In exceptional cases, when all other methods fail, special equipment can be used. But it should be done under professional supervision and only in a very limited number of situations,” notes Yuliia Marunych, “for example, when it comes to life or death cases. I do everything I can to make sure the need for this never arises.”

Yuliia also emphasised that choke collars (par force) hadn’t been created to correct aggressive behaviour. They were used to protect shepherd dogs from wolves, with the spikes facing outward for protection. However, later people started inverting the collars to push their dogs towards developing guard habits or encourage their fight response.

In other words, a choke collar is not the kind of equipment that can be considered effective in correcting aggressive behaviour. On the contrary, it can be the cause of it. 

A dog that is constantly experiencing pain quickly gets used to it. Therefore, supporters of training through pain sooner or later run into the issue that pain no longer restrains an agitated dog.

“The worst thing dog owners can do is to put a choke collar on their dogs and use a retractable leash,” says Yuliia. “It’s very painful to watch!”

Negative experiences can also cause animal aggression. For example, if a dog has already been bitten by other dogs, there’s a high probability for it to develop an aggressive reaction towards them.

Dog’s fear

Another reason for canine aggression is cowardice. This is a common strategy for animals to attack when they’re scared, and if a dog is fearful from birth or due to training, it can be labeled as “animal aggressive”.

Fits of fear can prompt aggression even in normally fearless dogs. And that’s why it is important to analyse whether your calm dog was scared before it displayed signs of aggression.

Our experts believe that although many people still consider fear-based training as part of the norm, such an approach is unacceptable in the modern world.

“You need to negotiate with the dog and treat it humanely,” says the dog handler Maryna Boiko. “In that case, the dog will be loyal to you and trust you. Fear will not lead to love, and therefore the dog will not protect its human if necessary. A frightened dog can just be waiting for the right moment to express itself the way it wants. And the owner is unlikely to be pleased with it.”

Owners’ nervousness and fear

Another reason for canine aggression is the emotional state of the owner. Even if a person is not usually aggressive, does not use intimidation as a method of training, does not hurt the dog, but is often nervous or full of fears, this will affect the animal as well.

“If the owner is constantly stressed and smells of adrenaline, a dog that is sensitive to smells will begin monitoring the situation and try to understand the reasons. In such a situation, the dog’s nervous system is overloaded, so it will react to stimuli in a completely different way than in a calm state,” explains Maryna Boiko.

“It’s important for owners to learn how to calm down when they are with their dogs. During lessons, I often ask owners to just start breathing deeply. It’s a very simple method, but it helps,” adds Yuliia Marunych.

Human mistakes at various stages of canine development and interaction

Our experts listed the main mistakes made by dog owners that can lead to animal aggression — from the moment they choose to adopt a dog and to the dog’s training in later years. However, there is also a universal mistake in interacting with a dog of any age — when the same thing is one day allowed, another day forbidden. This happens due to inconsistency or lack of coordination in the actions of people who interact with the dog. Therefore, it’s necessary to have a common training strategy from the very beginning.

When choosing a dog

Even when choosing a pet, it is possible to reduce the risks of animal aggression in the future. The first thing to consider is whether you and your dog are a good match. There are dogs that need high daily activity for proper development and life. If you aren’t ready to constantly satisfy that need, an animal overwhelmed with emotions and energy can display aggression.

If you’re planning to adopt a purebred dog, pay attention to the characteristics of the breed, ask the kennel owners or in the shelter how the dogs usually behave both as puppies and adults, and draw your conclusions after interacting with the dog. A good thing to do would be to have a dog handler present when making a choice.

Another cause of dog behavioural issues is a violation of the rules of breeding and training in the first months of life. In particular, early weaning of a puppy from its mother.

“The first important stage of socialisation in the context of aggressive behaviour occurs at the age of up to three months, when a puppy learns how to communicate with adult (through its mother) and small dogs (siblings). A human cannot teach a dog everything that its mother can,” emphasises Yuliia Marunych.

That’s why, if possible, a puppy should be left with its mother for up to three months.

Right after adopting a puppy

Entering a new home is the next stage in the animal’s socialisation. If you lack the experience and knowledge for this, it’s important to contact specialists who share your views in advance. For example, those who will not teach you to scare or hurt an animal. We are talking about training for owners, without a dog for now.

“Training is not as important as socialising, since a dog should know the whole world around it: what people, other dogs, cats, birds and cars are like. It’s just to make it comfortable during a walk. As when a dog feels uncomfortable, it is frightened, overexcited and cannot control itself,” says Maryna Boiko. “For this reason we have to walk with a puppy every day — each time a little farther from home, to places with a little more stimuli. It’s also important to explain to it how to react properly.”

It is recommended to take the dog to the first lesson with a dog handler or animal psychologist only after your puppy has adapted to the new family and when quarantine following the vaccination is over.

Adolescence

Another important step in the dog’s development is adolescence, which occurs between the ages of 6 and 11 months. During that period, young dogs, as in the case with human children, go through a very complicated stage of development. Displays of aggression during this time are a common phenomenon.

“During puberty, your previously adorable puppy can turn into a dinosaur,” jokes Yuliia. “But if the owner is aware of this possibility, they will not be scared, but will know how to react or when to ask for help.”

“If at this age a young dog acts aggressively and the owner doesn’t react in any way, this behaviour will become standard for it. Your teenager should hear right away that this kind of behaviour is not permitted,” adds Maryna Boiko. “It’s easier to prevent such things than to correct them afterwards.”

Though, all experts emphasise that, in most cases, it is possible to correct an adult dog’s behaviour, although it requires more time and effort. However, it is usually not possible to completely change stereotypes. And it is not always appropriate to retrain a dog. For example, it makes no sense to start correcting a dog that has been interacting aggressively for all of its 9-10 years, if its owners have tolerated it. This is a very big challenge for an animal of respectable age. 

Ways of preventing and correcting animal aggression

Yuliia Marunych emphasises that it is not appropriate to give advice in general. Each dog requires an individual approach.

The bottom line is, our experts say, that the main objective of any kind of training is to teach the dog to focus on its owner.

Maryna Boiko explains, “Executing commands is not the main thing. What’s important is how the dog can focus on its owner in such a way that, in any situation, hearing the owner call out its name will be enough to instantly switch over. To that end, a person has to be more interesting than everything around. It’s quite difficult, as the world is so big and attractive! That’s exactly why we start training dogs from an early age to reinforce the skill.”

Owners need time to get to know the animal, to learn themselves and to teach it. A good strategy is to show the pet that being with its owner is advantageous: “Look at me and you’ll get a treat, affection or a game…” For different animals, different sets of rewards can be developed.

“One should start with simple trick commands to get the dog interested. It might be easy to teach a puppy to sit still, but it won’t be interesting,” says Maryna. “So we break up the basics with tricks: do a snake run, do a spin, give a high five or show your nose.”

When a pet is trained to see and listen to its owner in all situations, even in case of aggressive behaviour, it will be easier to handle.

“One of the simplest teaching techniques is to stop and stand still, not to react emotionally and not to pull a leash. Just let the dog run around and then call it over, give it a treat and then command it to go back in its place,”  says Maryna. “But this may not work, and then you’ll have to look for other methods.”

It’s necessary to teach a dog how to behave when there’s a stimulus. If you understand what exactly can provoke certain reactions in your pet, you need to work out an algorithm of its behaviour. For example, it should come to its owner, sit next to or between their legs, and then play when the ‘stimulus’ passes by to release the tension. This is just one possible action protocol Maryna Boiko told us about. This is the one her Corgi Lucky has. But there can be a lot of them, and each dog has its own. Your hard work and support of an expert will help you form the one that will be effective for your dog and easy to understand.

Daryna Vasylchuk also recommends self-education: listening to lectures or reading books such as, for example, Oksana Galan’s “Who Do I Live With? A Short Course To Understand the Dog.”

Whether training is successful depends on the persistent systematic work of the owner, the desire to stay in contact with the dog, read its signals and understand its personality. And this is only possible with unconditional love and the desire to do everything in the best way for your friend.

— Skagerrak Strait. Gotland. Bornholm…

I remember reading these names syllable by syllable and placing the map on my lap again. It’s my longest journey to the north. Sitting in the passenger seat, I watch the densely grey waves of the Baltic Sea inlet pass by the window. Soon I’ll run into the Little Belt strait. I’ll splash in the cold waves and have no idea that hundreds of thousands of tons of poisonous shells lie somewhere on the bottom beneath me.

Every day, nature gets new wounds from warfare: forest fires, sea, land and air pollution. And the old scars are far from being healed.

Baltic Sea: 300 thousand tons of chemical weapons

What to do with unwanted ammunition? This question arose among the Allies after World War II. They decided to get rid of unused weapons in a seemingly quick and cheap way — by simply dumping them in the Baltic Sea. How it would affect marine life, and therefore humans, seemed to be of little concern in the forties.

It’s not known exactly how many munitions were dumped into the sea and where exactly. According to available data, most conventional munitions were sunk near Germany — over 100 thousand tons. Chemical munitions were dumped into the Little Belt and Skagerrak straits, as well as the basins around the islands of Bornholm and Gotland. The sea absorbed about 300 thousand tons of chemical munitions.

This horrifying “tradition” continued to be followed long after the war. For example, in 1961, the German government dumped cylinders with chemicals in a bay near Lübeck — just 8 kilometres from the coast. The cylinders contained chlorine, phosgene (choking gas) and the so-called laughing gas (nitrous oxide, which is now used for anesthesia and pain relief).

All these tanks corrode, slowly releasing their contents into the sea. The main pollutant from conventional munitions is the explosive TNT. It’s toxic to microorganisms, aquatic plants and fish. Releases from chemical weapons create an even more poisonous cocktail in the seawater. For example, it causes cancer in fish and other representatives of marine life. This poses a risk to people who consume such fish.

“Toxins damage marine ecosystems and threaten marine life,” says Terrence Long, founder of the NGO International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions. “TNT can burn corals and trigger harmful algal blooms… Chemicals also affect the photosynthesis of phytoplankton and the development of crustacean eggs.”

It’s not only marine life that suffers. 

In 2005, three Dutch fishermen pulled up their nets, but instead of fish, they found munitions there. They exploded, and the fishermen died. And since the war, at least 91 German fishermen have been injured in such incidents.

How to prevent the leakage of toxins? Can we remove munition tanks from the Baltic Sea? These questions haven’t been asked since World War II, but they are acute now. Solutions are just being developed. It is possible that a remotely operated vessel will examine the seabed. Germany has initiated a €100 million project to search for munitions in the sea.

There have also been unsuccessful attempts to neutralize munitions. In 2019, Germany, together with NATO, detonated 42 shells in the heart of a marine reserve in the Fehmarn Belt strait. At that time, dead marine mammals — Phocoena or porpoises — began to appear on the German coast. The public was outraged, and the German Ministry of Defence banned underwater explosions that same year.

In that notorious case, deaths from echolocation disruption were confirmed in a dozen of animals. In 2022 alone, in the Black Sea the number of dolphins killed was estimated at thousands.

The operation of sonars on warships disorients dolphins: they can’t find food, lose weight, and their immune system weakens. Dolphins die of hunger and diseases that a healthy body could cope with. Russian aggression kills not only people.

Ocean: Ironbottom Sound

In February 2001, a typhoon raged over the coral island of Ulithi in Micronesia. When it subsided, the islanders felt a strong smell of oil. Later, one of the lagoons was covered by a huge oily slick. It turned out that the typhoon shook the American oil tanker at the bottom of the ocean, which had been sunk by a Japanese torpedo back in 1944. It made itself known decades later after sinking. In 2001, over 90,000 litres of aviation fuel leaked from the USS Mississinewa tanker into the ocean.

The US cleaned up this slick and pumped more than 7.5 million litres of fuel from the ship’s tanks, but there was still more left. Millions of dollars were spent on the operation, but it’s just a drop in the ocean. And unfortunately, that expression isn’t as figurative as it sounds. Governments in the Pacific region have found that over 3,800 ships from World War II lie at the bottom of the ocean. Approximately 50 oil tankers are among them. All these ships and their tanks corrode, releasing toxic substances into the water. And when the rust finally eats through the wall of one of the tanks, oil or fuel leaks into the ocean.

Oils and fuels are not just ugly stains against the backdrop of the blue sea. They are destructive to coastal ocean ecosystems. Moreover, they can harm human health. Toxins are released in areas where fish is caught for Japanese sushi. Local islanders eat this fish, and it’s also served to tourists who come to enjoy the tropics. Such idyllic and pristine, from the outside…

Governments of Oceania countries occasionally remind us that the flora and fauna of coral reefs are dying due to oil leaks from sunken ships. Local residents insist that the responsibility for this should be taken by the US and Japan. Most countries in Oceania lack the resources to raise ships or clean up the sea on their own.

In some places in the ocean, you can find not just single sunken ships, but actual graveyards of ships from World War II.

First of all, it’s the Ironbottom Sound. You can find it on the map in Oceania, among the Solomon Islands, namely between the islands of Guadalcanal and Malaita. 

This strait got its name after the war. In 1942-1943, several battles took place here, and dozens of ships and planes sank in the strait. Its bottom became literally covered in metal. Researchers from the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme have estimated that there are 550 thousand tons of metal debris on the “iron bottom.”

Chuuk Lagoon in Micronesia also hides tons of iron. During World War II, Japan chose a small group of islands, remote from the rest of the land, to build a stronghold here. Amidst tropical landscapes, arsenals grew, radars rose, and runways stretched out. The clear Chuuk Lagoon (then called Truk) became the base of the Japanese fleet. Aircraft carriers, cruisers, tankers, submarines — every possible type of warships — were anchored here. In February 1944, American planes took off from the Marshall Islands, approached Chuuk Lagoon and opened fire on the Japanese fleet. After this attack, over 60 ships ended up at the bottom. They sank in a very small area — only 60 kilometres in diameter. So, the lagoon turned into a ship graveyard. You can even see with your own eyes the gruesome wreckage covered in algae and corals. It’s possible if you get to Micronesia and don’t mind wearing a diving suit.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is a place of incredible colours and life forms. If no efforts are made, toxins from ship fuel will eventually get there. Not far from the reef in the ocean, two American ships lie: Lexington aircraft carrier and Neosho tanker. Both sank during the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942. Researchers believe that together they contain nearly 19 million litres of oil.

Sunken ships or their wreckage are a war legacy that is not so easy to get rid of. The fact that missile cruiser Moskva and ship Tsezar Kunikov sank is a welcome development. However, they raise a lot of questions: how and when to raise this debris from the Black Sea, and how to dispose of it? Besides large vessels, the Black Sea is forced to absorb the wreckage of damaged ships, small boats, maritime drones and even the shells themselves. All this poses many challenges for the state and society.

Forests: deforestation, explosions and fungus

“Zelenka [ed.: green area] will protect our soldiers,” I remember this being repeated on social media at the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, awaiting spring. The forest covers the soldiers, and the enemy hides in it. The forest takes the hit but receives terrible scars itself. We are witnessing endless forest fires now. Environmentalists claim that about a third of Ukraine’s entire nature reserve fund has been affected by the war.

Combat actions have crippled ecosystems since World War I. It is clear that neither animals nor plants can survive direct attacks. However, it was not fire and explosions that left the longer-term effects, but the deforestation for military purposes. It reached enormous proportions even during World War I. In Britain, there was even a timber crisis. After the war, the British created the Forestry Commission, which undertook to plant new trees. World War II thwarted these efforts, but the Commission did not stop its work. It still operates today.

During World War II, people used more wood than steel, researchers tell about the history of American forests. Barracks, ships, docks, military factories, housing for soldiers, ammunition boxes were built from wood…

The United States, European countries and even Japan were full of deforested or destroyed forests. So, the newly formed United Nations put the issue of forest conservation on the agenda. As part of it, a permanent organisation responsible for forestry was established. It adopted a forest restoration programme. However, decisions on what and how to do were left to individual countries.

Different countries introduced new legislation in forest protection. For example, Japan passed laws on how exactly to restore forests. The deforested areas were mainly replanted with Japanese cedar and cypresses.

Meanwhile, in the United States, a large study was conducted — a kind of audit of forests. It turned out that timber was being depleted in forests one and a half times faster than new trees were growing.

After the war, the American Forestry Association adopted a programme urging more effective protection of forests from fires, increased control over forest pests and diseases, and stricter regulation of logging. In 1947, Congress passed the Forest Pest Control Act, followed by various legislative acts that provided mechanisms for cooperation in fighting forest fires. In 1949, a law was passed for the accelerated restoration of forests.

In Germany, efforts were made to revive not only forests but also large urban parks destroyed by bombings. In Hamburg, linden, maple, birch and oak trees were planted, and by 1980, the city’s vegetation had recovered to pre-war levels. In Dresden, botanical gardens hired boys to search for tree sprouts among the stones. Some of those saved trees are still growing today. However, greenery returned to the city much more slowly than in Hamburg.

In Ukraine, forests were also actively planted after the war. However, they approached it with a rule typical of Soviet times: the more and faster, the better.

You’ve probably walked through forests planted in the 50s and 60s, where pine trees stand in rows. Pine grows quickly, so it was mostly planted, along with fir and spruce. Such forests have an unnatural structure: the trees grow denser than usual, most of them of the same species and age. They are much more prone to disease and drying out than trees in natural virgin forests.

At the same time, World War II brought less obvious consequences for the forest.

In August 1944, American landing craft approached the French shores of the Mediterranean Sea. At that time, the Germans had already occupied France, and the Allies intended to push them away from the coastline. The operation was called Dragoon. It was successful for the Allies: the south of France was liberated. However, afterwards, the local trees began to get sick.

During Dragoon operation, soldiers unloaded ammunition boxes. These boxes were made of plane trees, the wood of which was infected with the fungus Ceratocystis platani.

When this fungus infects a tree, the flow of water and nutrients gradually becomes disrupted, ulcers appear under the bark, leaves wither and the bark becomes spotted. Within a few years, the sick plane tree dies.

North American plane trees had developed immunity to this disease, but European trees were vulnerable to it. In the first 15 years after the war, the plane tree disease did not manifest itself in any way. But then the acute phase began. The disease spread through the length and breadth of Europe south of the Alps, including large areas of Italy, Greece, Switzerland and southern France.

Even decades after the war, the disease was still killing trees in southern Europe. In the Italian municipality of Forte dei Marmi, 90% of plane trees died out between 1972 and 1991. In Greece, where the disease was noticed only in 2003, it quickly destroyed hundreds of trees.

In the French city of Toulouse, the problem affected a UNESCO World Heritage Site — the Canal du Midi. Tourists flock here to see the incredible landscapes: the canal surrounded by magnificent plane trees. In 2006, a deadly fungus was recorded here, and the trees began to die. Over 5 years, along the canal, 2,500 plane trees were cut down and replaced with more resistant species.

Land: Red Zone, the Poisoned Forest

The Battle of Verdun is one of the bloodiest battles in World War I, which took place in northern France in 1916. Over a hundred years have passed, and the battlefield is still covered with craters formed by intense artillery shelling. There used to be farms and small villages here, but now it’s almost an untouched forest. However, you can’t just wander around: access is restricted. And the reason is not the craters.

Firstly, the area between Verdun and Lille is full of unexploded shells.

“Explosions and ground movements during the war have short-term effects, but nature restores itself. And the mined areas pose a threat of pollution for decades,” explains Anastasiia Splodytel, a soil science expert and PhD in geography.

Secondly, chemical contamination of the soil causes invisible to the naked eye, but even more lasting consequences.

“At the site of the Verdun battle, the content of copper and lead in the soil still exceeds the norms for France. There is also a lot of arsenic, especially in the places where ammunition was burned,” says Anastasiia.

Immediately after the war, the French government declared the lands where the Verdun battle had taken place unsuitable for life and agriculture. The most affected areas were called the Red Zone. This is not a continuous area of ​​territory, but separate “spots” on the map near the city of Nancy, further west from Verdun to Soissons, and from there north to Lille.

Over the years, the Red Zone has significantly decreased, as part of the land has gradually recovered. Now it is approximately 170 square kilometres. You can’t live or walk here, and of course, eating plants grown in the Red Zone is prohibited.

Toxic substances from the soil migrate to water, and then to food products, and can therefore end up in the bodies of animals and humans. For example, lead causes neurological development disorders in children, while copper causes respiratory organ cancer.

During World War II, the soil was contaminated wherever battles took place, but there is very little data on this. In addition to shrapnel and explosives, chemical substances got into the soil with the medicines of German soldiers. This is about Losantin (calcium hypochlorite). This substance contains active chlorine, so it can damage plants and change soil properties. Zlatko Zlatanov, a historian and employee of the Second World War Museum, says, “German troops used the so-called chlorine containers, or losantin containers, to decontaminate the body in case of a chemical attack. We have such finds in the museum, they were sent to us. These losantin containers are small boxes containing chlorine tablets. They had such a thing on all fronts.”

There is no information on the chemical state of the land in the 1940s at all: no one just collected it. Therefore, scientists cannot accurately assess the impact of the war. There were no restoration measures either, except for mechanical demining. “I talked to people who were involved in the state restoration processes. There was nothing like that — only the infrastructure was being restored,” says Anastasiia Splodytel. “If they collected any explosive items, they were taken to one field or placed in one pit and buried. And no one still knows how many such places there are on the territory of Ukraine.”

No matter how terrible the land pollution after World War II was, the consequences of modern combat actions will be no less noticeable. “Types of ammunition, characteristics of waging war have changed and become more destructive than during World War II,” explains the researcher. “High-explosive, armour-piercing, phosphorus, and most likely even bacterial weapons are used. That is, they apply the full range of possible impacts, which significantly differs from the technical capabilities that existed in the forties. The shock wave and explosion products spread over a larger area.”

Modern warfare is striking not only for its different power, but also for the quantity of ominous “gifts” left in nature. Potentially, about 30% of Ukraine’s territory is mined, according to the State Emergency Service. This can be compared to the area of Greece or, let’s say, four areas of Switzerland.

It will take more than 700 years to clear the mines with the resources currently available in Ukraine. The good news is that the mines themselves can at least be technically neutralised.

But how to deal with other consequences of wartime activities for the land?

One of the global practices is land preservation. For example, in Denmark and the Netherlands, nature reserves have been established in areas contaminated by military actions.

In Germany, the areas of former military training grounds have become protected. They were actively used during the Cold War. Then, the training grounds became unnecessary. Some of the land was sold by the state to private owners for cleaning and construction. At the same time, about 120,000 hectares were put under protection — as part of the National Nature Heritage programme. For example, these are areas on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea or in Saxony, in the natural parks Dübener Heide and Fläming.

***

Before the full-scale war, I was lucky enough to visit Dzharylgach. I swam as far as I could, watching for pods of dolphins. And indeed they were there: diving carefree near the shores of the Kherson region. Will our generation be able to swim there again without fear, splash on the Kinburn Spit or peacefully wander along the shores of Tuzly Lagoons without encountering dead dolphins? Will weapons from the Baltic Sea be neutralised in my lifetime? Will it be possible to eat berries from the forests in northern France? I’m not sure.

Over time, the land, destroyed plants and damaged landscapes will recover on their own. However, to get rid of other war consequences, billion-dollar programmes and many years of work are needed.

“…I remember he was small because we put him in my small backpack. He was sitting there drooling, maybe he was hungry. We brought him home, and he peed like all little puppies. He cried a lot the first night. We made him a separate place on the floor, but then we took him into our bed. And he calmed down. He was very emotional.”

Yulia from Kharkiv remembers her dog. His name was Tymchyk. He hated fireworks, shed a lot and could hardly tolerate car rides.

When the full-scale war broke out in Kharkiv, they had to leave. Combat actions are not limited to one day, like fireworks on New Year’s Eve.

The family stopped in Kremenchuk and stayed in an apartment not very suitable for living. But they were happy they got out. And that they were together. All of them. With the dog.

“You must take the dog with you. Any animal, you must. A dog is a part of the home. When you take your dog with you, a part of the home goes with you,” Yulia recalls.

And then Tymchyk got sick and died. The family’s memories are tightly intertwined with a sense of guilt.

“I think the move affected his health. Moreover, he picked up a tick, and we didn’t notice and treat it in time. We are guilty too. Because we missed it, he got very sick. We barely saved him then. But there were still consequences for his health, from which, in fact, he got sick again and died,” Yulia recounts.

Guilt is what weighs heavily on the loss of a pet. And it’s something that almost all grieving caretakers remember.

Ruslana lost her cat, Pyrizhok, a few months ago. He was often ill, but then the worsening of his condition came like a bolt from the blue. The girl assumes that anesthesia during dental cleaning triggered a pancreatitis flare-up.

“I still haven’t come to terms with it. I have so many questions. I think only a professional psychologist can help me overcome this. It was not just the doctors who made the decision. In many ways, it was my responsibility, and I often wonder if I have made a mistake somewhere. Yes, we all make mistakes, but a mistake at the cost of an animal’s life is too much to bear,” she says.

The hardest part for Ruslana was the decision about euthanasia. While the cat was sick and in the hospital, he was getting worse. So the family was waiting for that very call. And one day it came.

“We were in the subway. They told us he couldn’t be kept suffering any longer. We went to the clinic, expecting to see an exhausted animal. He was lying down when we arrived, but then he got up. He recognised us. However, it was the effect of the medication, nothing more. It was time to make the hardest decision,” Ruslana recounts.

Due to the russian aggression, we lose animals in situations where we could supposedly save them. Our actions are limited by shelling, fuel shortages, conditions of extreme stress.

Journalist and blogger, known to readers as Yuri Koshmarchenko, wrote a lot and humorously about his pug named Agamemnon. Many people visited Yuri’s page to read about his dog. But in March 2022, Agamemnon died. Yuri couldn’t get him to the vet in time due to shelling and fuel shortages.

“I have thoughts that I could have gone to the vet earlier. Could have found fuel faster. Or a detour route (at one point, a bridge blew up right in front of our car). Or something else. It still hurts me because of this. I don’t know what to say. Just take care of your own ones. Whoever these ‘own ones’ may be,” he says.

Oksana Zinko, a psychotherapist, says that the feeling of guilt is one of the hardest experiences. It applies, of course, to the period after the death of an animal. This is a state in which people often get stuck in their grieving.

“This situation can be explained by the fact that there is a great responsibility on the person for the fate of the animal. And caretakers cannot forgive themselves for how everything turned out,” explains the psychotherapist.

Moreover, people who have lost a friend — a dog, cat or another animal — often don’t feel they are understood and supported as they wish. So how to cope with the loss of someone who became so dear to you?

The loss of a person or an animal is often not radically different.

According to Oksana Zinko, downplaying the significance of the loss of an animal and comparing it to the loss of a person are categorically unacceptable.

“Just like between a person and a person, a relationship is built between an animal and a person,” she explains. “And often animals give us something special: unconditional love and devotion. After the loss of an animal, its caretaker goes through the same stages of grieving as in the case of the death of a loved one. This includes denial, shock, guilt and depression.”

Yulia remembers that she felt the urge to return to the rituals of walks: “I even thought about posting ads saying that I would walk with any dog. And I replaced it with just walking. At first, I took a leash, put it in my backpack and walked to our, with Tymchyk, places. I sat on a bench, talked to him, remembered, cried. It lasted about a month.”

Yuri says that he even misses what used to annoy him: snoring, piles in the corners where there’s a risk of stepping into. But the most painful thing is that nobody welcomes him at home anymore: “At first, the absence of those jumps on my head hit me straight in the heart every time.”

Ruslana also speaks about this: “When you come home and no one welcomes you, you feel like it can’t be real.”

Often people don’t understand another person’s grieving for an animal. In particular, they compare this loss to the loss of material things. But Oksana Zinko explains: when we lose someone we had a close relationship with, we grieve for our own condition as well — for how we felt when our dog, cat, friend or father was alive.

How can you help yourself to cope with and accept the loss?

“The animal gave us a lot of love. And now we face a difficult task — to give some of that love to ourselves, to take care of ourselves,” notes Oksana Zinko.

She explains that there’s a classic dual model of grieving. What is its essence? We have to allow ourselves to grieve, to cry, to be angry at this injustice, regardless of other people’s thoughts or criticism.

Tymchyk’s former caretaker rightly points out: “If a person feels that this is a significant loss, they have to go through it. From the outside, it might have seemed that I was grieving too much. I remember our friends came over, and I burst into tears when I said ‘we explained to the little one that we buried Tima in the sand.’ I think it’s not necessary to pay attention to how people will perceive it from the outside.”

But at the same time, it’s important to help yourself with the desire to live.

“Explore new things, make new plans, talk to people. It’s normal if at some point you fall back into sadness and withdraw from active social life again. Your support should remain, or rather, be strengthened by your personal forms of support — the ability to rely on yourself,” explains Oksana Zinko.

It’s also helpful to find a community of people who have gone through similar experiences.

Yuri says that he has always received sincere support from others:

“I think this is one of the important traits of Ukrainians — the ability to appreciate any life. Pay attention: when we read about rescuing operations from under rubble after shelling, there is always information that so many people were rescued, as well as a cat, dog or a parrot. Every life is sacred. Ukrainians don’t even know this as much as they naturally feel it. But I felt it myself — with the sincere condolences of many people.”

Thematic groups, chats, a friend or an acquaintance who has experienced the loss of an animal as well — they will help you go through this path a bit easier, without getting stuck in a feeling of guilt. By the way, how not to get stuck in it?

Feelings of guilt often arise regardless of how and why the animal died.

“Many people feel regret and anger at themselves, even if they know deep down that they did everything possible to save the animal,” says the psychotherapist. “Of course, when a person faces a situation, they need time to accept what happened, to get over it, to grieve. However, guilt left unchecked can gradually destroy lives. We have a choice: to control these feelings and emotions or to allow them to control us.”

Ms. Oksana explains that feelings of guilt are not just emotions. Essentially, guilt is the belief that you have done something wrong and deserve to suffer for it. The only way to influence this belief is to change what we believe in. There are several options here.

Observe your feelings of guilt. Do you notice that you’re repeating the same guilty thoughts over and over again? Choose the “stop” signal to get off this painful mental path. It could be a physical action, like taking a deep breath and exhaling sharply. Then consciously focus on something else, like your plans for tomorrow. This way, you’ll remember that there is something positive ahead in your life, not just negative things from the past.

Choose the courage to accept what cannot be changed. Repenting of mistakes doesn’t change or compensate for the past. It just drives you into a dead end. The only thing you can change now is your future. Accept this fact.

Choose balance. Feelings of guilt make us focus on the times we perceive as failures — when we were “too busy” to walk, play with or hug our pet. Or when we couldn’t take them to the vet earlier, pay attention to symptoms of illness. This prevents us from objectively seeing all the other time we spent with our pet. So the next time your mind dives into these unhappy thoughts, decide to refocus. Actively remind yourself of the good times when you were a truly responsible and caring pet owner. Most likely, this was a significant part of the time.

How to help a person next to you grieving for the loss of an animal

“The worst thing that can happen is belittlement. If you don’t know how to support, it’s better to keep silent than to say that I ‘can just get another cat’,” says Ruslana.

If you want to support someone who is grieving and avoid saying the wrong things, it’s best to inquire about how they’re feeling.

“Our idea of how we can help sometimes differs significantly from what the person needs. Some people want to be alone. Someone needs to go to a place where they have spent special time with their pet, someone needs to talk. Allow them to express their needs. If we can’t help, it’s very important not to harm,” says Oksana Zinko.

The psychologist suggests a few universal words of support: “It must be very difficult”, “I can’t even imagine how hard it is to go through this.”

However, phrases like “I know how much it hurts” should be avoided. Because we can never fully feel another person’s pain. Everyone hurts differently.

The psychotherapist also advises being cautious with religious themes. Religion touches very deep values, so it can evoke strong emotions.

How to help a child comprehend the loss

“Tima died before our eyes,” recalls Yulia, “the little one was at home. He saw our reaction, but then he didn’t quite understand what was happening. He asked, and we explained to him what happened. We told him that Tima died and that Den (dad) buried him in the sand.”

Often, the death of a pet is the first death a child has encountered. And how adults help them through this can affect their future attitude toward death. The best thing you can do is to be honest with the child, says the psychotherapist.

“It’s important to explain in advance that every animal grows old and eventually dies. Tell your child the truth, but be careful. Never tell them about clouds or other fantasies. This creates distrust of parents and the world, which is very difficult to overcome later,” says Oksana Zinko. “When the pet’s death has already occurred, certain rituals can help say goodbye to the pet, cope with the loss and gradually accept it.”

When choosing a ritual, focus on what may resonate with your family. You can plant a tree in honour of the pet or write a farewell letter. Perhaps the ritual will be related to something important in the pet’s life.

“We cremated Pyrizhok and brought the urn home. Then we decided to scatter his ashes from the window. Pyrizhok adored windows, he could sit there for hours. It was a kind of feline Netflix. And we decided that such a farewell would be the most appropriate,” recalls Ruslana.

***

Soon after losing Pyrizhok, Ruslana’s family adopted a kitten from a shelter. The girl says it wasn’t she who saved him, but he saved her. Yulia isn’t ready for another dog yet, but she happily interacts with other dogs on the street, which somehow replaces the absence of Tymchyk for her.

It’s been a year without Agamemnon for Yuri, and he’s currently not ready to be responsible for another pet either.

Oksana Zinko explains that people choose different strategies: some immediately get another pet, while others close this question for themselves forever. There can be no universal answer here. Everyone has their own way of acceptance. But most importantly, it should bring peace to their souls.

Only 22% of apartments for rent in Ukraine are available for people with pets. This was found out by UAnimals and DIM.RIA during a joint study of the residential rental market in September 2023.

Meanwhile, due to the full-scale invasion of russia, internal migration continues in our country. People move from the occupied or frontline regions to safer places with whole families, often leaving their lifetime possessions at home but taking their pet friends with them.

Today’s article is about how they manage to rent housing in Ukraine and what helps in this. We share the stories of internally displaced pet owners and advice from people with experience in the rental market.

“Is it possible to live with the elderly?”: the story of Rudyk and Baghira’s owners from Bakhmut

Natalia Zubar evacuated from Bakhmut with her large family. When it became too loud in the city [ed.: due to shelling], everyone left: she and her husband, her sister with her son, elderly parents, a male cat, and a female cat. The male cat Rudyk is a village boy whom they took as a small kitten, and the female cat Baghira is a black beauty who came to them for a foster home and treatment after a serious injury, but she was never given to anyone. The pets arrived in ordinary bags to the capital itself, where Natalia’s son, Petro, lived and studied. There, the family started looking for a separate home.

“We tried not to get nervous — we didn’t even look at the ad that categorically stated ‘no pets’. But still, there were strange preconceptions. For example, one realtor said that traces of cat urine were visible under ultraviolet light. And if one of my little ones [ed.: pets] ‘messes up’, even if I clean it right away, it won’t be possible to rent out the apartment to anyone afterwards. I just imagined how people who want to rent an apartment walk around with ultraviolet light and look for traces of cats,” says Natalia.

Eventually, the family found a rather spacious three-room apartment – the kind of apartment that is usually described as “in need of repair”. In order to live in more or less comfortable conditions, they really made the repairs. But they still remember the process of looking for housing with a nervous smile. 

“We always asked cautiously: Is it possible to live with the elderly? And with pets? And with a disabled person?” says Natalia, who has been using a wheelchair for many years. “Sometimes the conversation didn’t even end with cats.”

Natalia says that anything can happen. Recently, a parrot flew onto her son’s balcony, which either escaped or was deliberately set free. There was no pet clause in the lease agreement, but the owner of the apartment was moved by the story that the parrot had chosen her apartment on its own and did not demand that he be evicted.

Advice

Antonina Semenova, a homeowner: “Look for different options. In my case, for example, tenants without pets and children consistently ‘killed’ apartments more than ‘a herd of horses with 3 senior kindergarten groups.’ Therefore, if in the future I rent out my apartment in the suburbs of Kyiv again, I will write ‘only with children and/or pets’.”

Kateryna Honchar, a tenant: “For these almost two years, I have changed housing three times. I have two cats. When I searched with the help of realtors, they asked for a deposit of $1,000 for the animals. Those, who did not plan to move but were forced to flee the war, do not always have such ‘extra’ funds. But this is not the only way. In the previous apartment, under the condition of a long lease, our pets were given a trial period of 3 months. They are well-behaved, so everything went well.”

“Oh, do you have cats? No way”: the story of owners of a cat and kittens from Siversk

In April 2022, Yuliia Deineko evacuated from the town of Siversk in the Donetsk region to the village of Horyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. And a year later, the family moved to the capital, as the children were enrolled to study there. They also took their big cat family to Kyiv — a mother cat and her newborn kittens.

“We knocked about hostels for a long time, moved and tried to rent housing. It didn’t always work out,” Yuliia recalls. “When we were looking [ed.: for the house], one realtor assured us that we would not find anything with cats. She told us to hand them over to a shelter, and there would be no problems. But I couldn’t do that!”

Yuliia calls those times of looking for a place to live the circles of hell because she was in despair from constant insults, hints about the possibility of getting rid of pets, emphatic refusals and scare stories about the inevitability of damaged wallpaper or destroyed parquet.

“These words are still in my ears: ‘Oh, do you have cats? No way…’,” says the woman. “I think we were lucky: the owner of the apartment was urgently renting it out because she was moving. I was constantly monitoring the announcements, and as soon as a new one appeared, I immediately called. We met, talked and agreed on the cat issue. She has a cat herself, so she treated our pets normally.”

The family rents an apartment on the left bank of Kyiv. They live together with cats that have not damaged anything.

Advice

Olena Vincent, a tenant of housing in Georgia: “In Batumi, there is much more housing than those who want to rent it. In new buildings, there are residents in at most one-third of the apartments. Over the past six months, a lot of people have left Georgia, the high season is far away, and it is not necessarily true that it will be at all. Therefore, the prices are falling, and the owners are happy to find people willing to rent their housing. Half of my friends rent apartments with dogs, two friends — with four cats, and I — with three cats and a dog. And we are talking about more or less new, good apartments. Housing in Soviet conditions [ed.: home improvements] or without appliances is rented out very rarely here.”

Olena Antipova, administrator of the Facebook group for finding housing for tenants with pets: “I would advise you to write as much detail as possible about yourself, your pet and the housing requirements in the ads. Tell where you are from, where you study or work, in which location you are looking for housing and how much you are willing to pay. If possible, add a photo of your pet. I remember one case when an apartment after renovation was rented with a “no pets” condition. A girl with a dog came to watch. After seeing her [ed.: a dog], the landlady agreed. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky. Finding housing with pets is very difficult, but possible.”

“We decided to take a puppy”: the story of a doctor and a soldier who travel around the frontline regions with a dog

Daria Volkova is the last doctor who left the semi-surrounded Soledar. She helped people who stayed in their hometown in shelters and basements. She already evacuated wearing a bulletproof vest, which her 13-year-old beloved cat Archie clung to. Daria recalls that this helped her pass the checkpoints quickly: a tired woman with red eyes and a frightened cat around her neck answered all possible questions only with their look.

“We drove to Pokrovsk, where a friend put me in an empty three-room apartment near the railway station, regardless of the cat. Archie survived a month with me in Pokrovsk. And then there were three more happy months with my parents at a rented dacha [ed.: summer house] in Poltava. One night he left and never came back. Perhaps his time had come. This is still my great pain,” says Daria.

Her husband Oleksii joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His path is also the path of Daria, who has lived almost along the entire front line over these two years.

“I changed houses every 2-4 months. I remember it like in a kaleidoscope. When I lived in Sloviansk, we decided to get a fox terrier puppy. We were looking for this particular breed because my husband has childhood and teenage unmet needs,” smiles Daria. “And Tobik turned out to be a salvation for both of us — for me, so that I wouldn’t go crazy from everything that was happening around, and for him — a kind of rehabilitation. The dog helps to survive everything. I can’t describe how he waits, meets and loves Oleksii!”

Daria says that renting an apartment with a dog is not easy. Especially considering the fact that it has to be changed often. Now they live in the Kharkiv region.

“It took incredible effort to rent a private house. We deliberately looked for a house with territory in order to let the teenage dog out and train it to use the toilet,” the woman says. “When we settled in, during the inspection of the house and territory, it turned out that only the concrete path to the gate was ‘fixed’ for us, and everything else belonged to the owner, who lived nearby behind the fence. Although the ad promised 3 hundred square metres of land. We had to look for another place to live.”

However, Daria recalls that incredible stories also happened. Once she rented a house on the territory of the manor the size of a recreation centre. The owners, a married couple, loved the dog as their own and allowed him almost everything. Daria remembers this sincere humanity with gratitude.

“I think we did everything we could for our pets. Sometimes I watch ‘dog groups’: people abandon pets and leave forever. Sometimes they leave them on a chain. Perhaps they are afraid, in particular, of these difficulties with finding housing…”

Advice

Olha Kononenko, a friend of a tenant with an animal: “My friend once submitted an ad on social networks on behalf of her cat, and everything worked out. He wrote something like this in the introduction: ‘My name is Dzhanho, and I am a cat. I’m a pretty smart cat as I manage my social media pages by myself. Yep, I know how to do it, and how am I worse than my human roommates who do just that all day long: tap-tap, tap-tap on a laptop keyboard?’. This text was funny, but it contained information that was usually of interest to apartment owners. For example, the cat complained that back in his early childhood he was deprived of the very thing that some people associated with dignity. Therefore, he does not mark the territory and smells only of shampoo. It was creative, original, and it helped.”

Natalia Adamovych, a tenant: “Hiding that there are pets, in my opinion, is not okay at all. The only thing is that it is easier to talk about them already during the meeting. When landlords like a potential tenant in communication, they become more accommodating in some matters.”

Comment from expert

Natalia Birova, Real Estate Management Specialist

For tenants

In our country, it is currently difficult for pet owners to rent housing, so I advise you to offer an increased guarantee payment if possible. In this way it is often possible to convince even those who write in capital letters “NO PETS” in the ad. It’s not just about the money — this way you’ll show a conscious sense of responsibility.

In my memory, no one has ever said: “Yes, my pet can damage something.” But I know such cases when pets that have lived in an apartment for 10 years and have never damaged anything, start to cause damage in new conditions. You should be ready, both morally and financially, to be responsible for the consequences. Even if the owner of the property is pet-friendly and does not demand a double guarantee payment or compensation for damaged property.

You can provide recommendations from your previous place of residence, which is a huge advantage. Sometimes people say that they are ready to invite [ed.: a landlord] to the apartment where they currently live, give the contact details of the current owner and even send videos and photos of the apartment. It works.

In no case should you persuade the owners. It is better for you to look for the right person. Because this violates the equality of relationship: people, feeling that you simply have nowhere to go, often start, as they say, “hoovering”. Even if you are really in a hopeless situation, don’t talk about it. You are not an unfortunate person who out of pity was allowed to live with a pet, but a tenant who pays for a service by mutual agreement.

For landlords (landladies)

I advise you to communicate with future tenants, be interested in their history and assess their adequacy and responsibility. In particular, it is worth learning about people from various sources — from open registers to feedback in groups. From my experience, it is people who damage property much more often than pets. The order in the house will depend on people, not on the pets.

Carefully prepare an agreement, with all the details specified. The agreement should protect both parties — you and the tenants.

Immediately arrange for regular visits at an agreed time. Once every month or two, you should check what is happening with your property, so that it does not turn out to be completely ruined in half a year. Usually, tenants with pets offer you to visit themselves to make sure everything is okay.

Specify mandatory cleaning after eviction. The next tenants may be allergic, and the previous stay of a pet in the apartment should not harm them and your business in general.

Blow pipes with a hypnotic, nooses, flashlights and treats are the things that stray animal catchers always have about them. Some of them also bring a shovel to get the animal out from under the rubble (if necessary), and cardboard to avoid lying on the cold ground during observations. All for the sake of sneaking closer and catching a street animal for sterilization.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the situation with stray animals has significantly worsened throughout Ukraine, especially in the frontline regions. This is evidenced by the results of a study conducted by  Socioinform Ukrainian Centre for Public Opinion Research. Thus, in the frontline regions, the number of cats and dogs cared for by animal volunteers has increased by an average of 60%, and in shelters — by more than 100%. 

We spoke with Khrystyna Drahomaretska and Serhii Abramov,  professional animal catchers in UAnimals sterilization missions in the east and south of the country, about why animal sterilization is the right decision in such circumstances and what is the role of catchers in this.

What is the professional path of catchers like?

Khrystyna and Serhii have in common not only cooperation with UAnimals, but also the fact that they came to the profession of animal catchers from completely different fields. Khrystyna comes from Odesa and was an architect in the past. She likes this work, but plans to return to architectural projects after the war.

Outside of work, the girl always volunteered a lot at the shelter, where dogs are fed and treated, sometimes she herself found a home for the animals or fostered them. After February 24, 2022, Khrystyna lost her job, so the girl had more time to help animals. This is how volunteering gradually turned into a new profession for Khrystyna — an animal catcher.

“A full-scale invasion began, and a lot of animals had to be evacuated. Later, we took them to shelters from the de-occupied territories as well. Then I started thinking globally about how to reduce the problem of the population of stray animals. Therefore, I got to know foreign volunteers who were ready to help with sterilization,” tells Khrystyna.

Mastering a profession that was new for her, the girl asked her colleagues about everything and also watched special videos on the Internet. Even at the beginning of her journey as a catcher, Khrystyna understood: it is very difficult to establish contact with most stray animals. Therefore, she bought the necessary equipment for catching and learnt in practice.

“I tried to say ‘come here, don’t be afraid’, but it doesn’t make sense. A wild dog looks into my eyes and sees a threat: I can catch it and lock it up somewhere. However, if it is very hungry, it will go to the smelly cat food, even in spite of its fear,” Khrystyna tells about her tricks.

The girl explains that it is cat food that most effectively attracts stray animals, even dogs. The secret here is the smell: the more fragrant the treat, the better it attracts the animal’s attention. According to this feature, even cheap sausage is superior to pieces of meat. And the consistency of the food is also important: the animal has to chew it for a long time on the spot, not grab it and run away. Therefore, catchers often use pates as bait.

Serhii is also from the south of Ukraine, from neighbouring Mykolaiv. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked as a photographer and videographer. He says that he could not even think that his life would change so dramatically. His path to becoming an animal catcher also began with volunteering.

“I came to my friend Anna Kurkurina and offered to help her with anything during the war. She had just begun an intensive process of sterilizing animals outside the city, and there was a problem: there was no one to catch them. Anna asked if I could do it, and I decided to give it a try. Experience came with time,” recalls Serhii.

The man says that the most important thing for him when catching animals is calmness. That is why he tries to clear his head of unnecessary thoughts when he goes to work.

“The animal feels your mood. Even from a distance of a few dozen metres, it understands what a person wants from it. If you are nervous, it will feel it and will not let you get close. If you know how to deal with emotions, then it is easier to catch an animal,” says Serhii.

Insights into the profession — from tools to risks

As a catcher, Serhii has already travelled all over the Mykolaiv region, helped animals from flooded Kherson and thus fulfilled orders in the east of the country. For example, in the Sumy region, he caught a huge Mastiff at the request of one of the shelters. It was this trip that the man remembers the most. He recalls that he had to drive almost across the country through snow and fog to fulfil this request. Several animal rights activists had already tried to catch the dog, but no one succeeded. Catching this dog really turned out to be an extra credit task. He even had to use a hypnotic: Serhii shot three times from a special anesthesia tube.

When catchers shoot hypnotics not from pneumatics, but from blow pipes, the animal can evade. It reacts faster than a needle with a hypnotic reaches it. Therefore, in order not to waste the drug, you need to get as close as possible to the animal. Serhii remembers: the first time he shot a dog, even with a hypnotic charge, he felt uneasy.

“I have the following point: if you can avoid shooting a dog [with a gun with a hypnotic], then I don’t do it. That’s more humane. The sound of gunshots can be traumatic for the animal, and it is better not to abuse of hypnotics,” says Serhii.

There is a detail in catching [an animal] with a hypnotic: a dog that has been hit does not fall asleep immediately. Meanwhile, the animal begins to run away, scared, and hides in places that are difficult for people to reach, such as in sewers or basements. Serhii says that sometimes you have to run a lot to catch the dog.

“Everything depends on the dog’s personality: some of them fall asleep instantly, and others run away, but there are still dogs “on adrenaline” — this hormone neutralises the anesthesia that we inject. Once I shot a dog three times with hypnotics, but it did not fall asleep. Then I couldn’t find it for a long time. Then I see: it is standing and looking at me, although by all accounts it should already have been lying down and sleeping,” tells Serhii. 

But for Khrystyna, it is mentally most difficult to work with nooses for catching animals. She says that a dog may bite its tongue or hit its muzzle in an attempt to free itself. It is difficult for the girl to look at it.

Khrystyna used to try to catch dogs with her hands, but now she has a lot of scars because of it, so she stopped doing so. She says: she was worried about every bite to avoid rabies. The work trip sometimes lasts up to a month, and the girl can’t go to the hospital there: there is not enough time or there is no hospital nearby.

“I barely convinced the doctors to give me a rabies vaccination. I told them that I worked in a war zone and caught animals biting me very often. The doctors replied: as long as there is no bite, we cannot vaccinate you. They said the drug was very expensive, and they didn’t want to waste it for no reason,” tells Khrystyna about her journey to rabies vaccination.

Fortunately, the girl eventually managed to convince the doctors with arguments that there were few people like her and every bite could be fatal for her.

Later, it saved Khrystyna’s life. Once she neglected the safety rules and did not wear rubber gloves while working with the dog. The girl touched its mucus and, without washing her hands, scratched her eye. The dog turned out to be rabid and eventually died, and Khrystyna received a new vaccination just a week after interacting with it. The catcher is sure: if it were not for the first vaccination, the infection could have already affected the brain during such a long period of time.

Even more than dog bites, the girl is afraid of cat scratches. She says that she does not understand this phenomenon, but their scratches are much more painful than dog bites. In addition, infectious irritations or purulent secretions appear as a result.

But bites and scratches are not the only dangers that threaten animal catchers, as they sometimes work just a few dozen kilometres from the places of hostilities. Therefore, in sterilization missions, you should not forget about your own safety: watch your feet carefully and react to extraneous sounds.

At the same time, Khrystyna says that sometimes it is easier to work near the demarcation line because there are no people. She explains: people often do not know about her profession and rush to protect animals, sometimes even with a fight.

“There was a situation when I shot a dog with a hypnotic. One old lady immediately ran up to me and cursed me for several generations,” says Khrystyna.

Serhii has the opposite opinion: “It is more difficult to work in frontline areas, as dogs are also stressed by explosions. They don’t understand what’s going on and panic.”

Dreams and senses in the work of catchers

Khrystyna emphasises: her dream as a professional catcher is to ensure that there are no stray animals left in Ukraine. The girl is convinced that people should adopt animals only after special training or surveys. A person must show that he/she can keep an animal and pay for its treatment. Sterilization also contributes to the reduction of stray animals. The girl had her own pet dog called Milady sterilized as well.

«I have a shepherd dog, and I sterilized her. I don’t need offspring from Milady. She is my friend, not a means of earning money on the breed,” explains Khrystyna.

Khrystyna and Serhii say that being a catcher is very exhausting. To stay in this business for a long time, you need to have stress resistance and endurance, and also understand the importance of your work.

“Few people are ready to do this job. There are people who do what thousands of others can do at work. And in order to become a catcher, you need more than just love for animals, you need a desire to understand how it works, an understanding of animal psychology,” says Khrystyna.

Serhii confirms the words of his colleague: “This is meticulous, dirty work. It takes physical and mental effort to climb through bushes, dumps and ditches to find dogs. But this is a way to help stray animals. As sometimes you see there are more and more of them, and you understand: you must solve this issue somehow.“

The man says that sometimes he has to perform more than his main duties: “Being a catcher means being a universal fighter.” For example, if a dog is injured or has an injured paw, the catcher also takes the animal to an X-ray.

It also happens that the work of catchers literally saves the lives of animals.

“Someone tied the dog’s muzzle with a piece of iron so that it could not open its mouth at all. Because of such a “muzzle mask”, the dog had not eaten anything for 2 weeks. The animal rights activists came, tried to catch it with their own hands, ran and fussed. The dog got scared and hid in an abandoned chicken coop. When I approached, the dog was sitting calmly, probably it decided to give up. We removed the piece of iron under anesthesia, and we saw that his face was cut to the bone,” says Serhii.

He is quite happy when such cases end happily: the dog not only survived, but also found a family.

The photoes of Serhii are from the photographer Gian Marco Benedetto