Since the start of the massive Russian invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, lots of people have dramatically changed their lifestyles. Not only people, by the way. For lots of pets and wildlife representatives, the war became a true hell on earth. But even in the toughest times, being human means that we take care of our smaller brothers. Ukrainians know this like no others.
The history of this war written in blood still shows how people care about animals. And here we tell the stories of h Ukrainians saving their animals during the war.
The very start of the Russian invasion became a true massacre for numerous towns in Kyiv Oblast including notorious Bucha, Borodyanka, and Irpin. Thousands of people with their pets tried to save their lives under artillery fire. Not all of them succeeded, unfortunately.
Anastasiya Ticha, 21, was among Irpin residents. Her photo with her dogs on the way to safety, taken by an American photographer became viral. She hosted a dog shelter with numerous old and disabled dogs living in it. With the start of an active war phase, she gathered all her pets, even disabled ones, and started her way under the fire on her feet. Fortunately, she and her husband succeeded in leaving the dangerous zone with 15 dogs, 5 cats, a hamster, a chameleon, and a turtle and even return one more time to pick up those lost during the first run.
Today, she runs a dog shelter with over 60 pets from war zones. Volunteers bring wounded and scared dogs to Nastya from Nikolaev, Chasiv Yar, Bachmut, and other dangerous locations. She seeks families for them and succeeds with this.
Here is the full story in Ukrainian. You can also follow her Instagram where she is fundraising for her shelter
Other animals help charity in Ukraine https://uanimals.org/en/.
And of course, support our men in uniforms protecting not only our people from genocide but also our animals from extinction. More on how the Ukrainian military helps animals in the following posts
