Themes by tag: animals

A team of Romanian veterinarians, led by Dr. Ioan Răzvan Șuteu from Cluj-Napoca, launched the “RoUa” campaign (its name combining Romania and Ukraine) to provide free veterinary care to injured, abandoned, and neglected animals throughout Ukraine. The initiative grew from Dr. Șuteu’s long-standing work with stray and underserved animals and his experience coordinating a mobile medical network for rural communities.

The core team includes two surgeons (Dr. Șuteu and Dr. Emma Stratulat), an anesthesia specialist from Slovenia, a PR photographer, and student volunteers.

The campaign provides on-site surgeries, sterilizations, and basic medical care; local partnerships (STEP in Brody, Inițiativa Cremeneț) ensure long-term follow-up for animals requiring extended care. The team uses translators and Google Translate to manage language barriers and leaves written treatment instructions for owners and local caregivers.

The team is currently working in Ukraine’s Ternopil region. Interviews with the veterinarians can be arranged in person through October 17 or conducted online by prior request.

• animals
• doctors
• volunteers
• Ternopil

Alto, a one-and-a-half-year-old Golden Retriever, now works at St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital alongside Inna Doroniuk, an educator and early childhood development specialist who volunteers with animals.

Therapy dogs are specially trained four-legged companions who support and comfort patients during treatment and rehabilitation. To qualify, an animal must complete specialized instruction, extensive training, and ultimately pass a behavioral test.

Alto passed his exam with flying colors. His mission at the hospital now includes:

• Aiding in children’s psychotherapeutic recovery;
• Assisting in physical rehabilitation;
• Providing comfort and calming influence;
• Helping to overcome social isolation;
• Offering solace during difficult moments.

By prior arrangement, journalists are invited to cover Alto’s work on-site in Lviv.

• animals
• children
• Lviv

Tetiana Slavinska is a canine handler from Kyiv. In 2015, her military husband returned home after rotation. At the time, Tetiana was worried about how he would adjust to civilian life and decided that a dog would help him relax emotionally. This is how a beloved family member appeared – a Belgian Malinois named Drive. The family began a new life with training, and competitions. At the end of 2022, Tetiana was able to travel to Poland, where Drive was trained to locate the deceased.

The next challenge was physical protection: body armor for the dog. Tetiana searched for protective equipment in Ukraine, Europe, and America. Simultaneously, she considered the possibility of making it herself, as foreign equivalents were very expensive. Tetiana studied foreign models of dog body armor that her military canine handler friends brought her. She also consulted with a veterinarian, because body armor is not just about protection; it’s also about the dog’s ability to move freely. Furthermore, an improperly fitted vest can harm the animal’s joints.

Tetiana experimented with different models, changing the cut and adding new elements. For example, she added a strap to the body armor at the soldiers’ request, allowing the dog to be carried if there is a risk of injuring its paws (from shrapnel, broken glass, etc.). In the summer of 2025, Tetiana received a patent for her product. Currently, she has two working dogs and is using them to help demine the country.

Journalists can speak with Tetiana in person in Kyiv or online, by prior arrangement.

• animals
• women
• Kyiv

The Hospitails’ mission brings together veterinarians and volunteers to evacuate animals from Ukraine’s active combat areas.

One of the key Hospitallers voluntary organization’s efforts first sprang into action in June 2023, after the occupiers blew up the Kakhovka dam, endangering countless animals. Since then, Hospitails has operated systematically, equipping a fully functional mobile operating room that allows the team to vaccinate, treat, and perform surgeries on animals directly in the field.

In its first year, the project rescued and rehomed roughly 200 animals. The team vaccinated and treated 243 animals during field missions, performed 168 surgical and sterilization procedures, and distributed 10 tons of humanitarian aid.

Journalists can cover the team’s work by prior arrangement.

• animals
• doctors
• volunteers

Mykhailo Rusin, a candidate of biological sciences and senior researcher at Kyiv Zoo, has dedicated his career to protecting European hamsters. He runs the Center for the Reproduction and Renewal of Rare Species and founded the Hamster Rescue Center.

Recently, his efforts were featured in the National Geographic, which highlighted his work under the headline: “A scientist is saving Ukraine’s hamsters—in the middle of war.”

Rusin has been working to protect these rodents since 2019. The European hamster, listed in Ukraine’s Red Book of endangered species, once survived the Ice Age but now faces extinction. In Ukraine, the species still lives in some regions, where it inhabits gardens, summer cottages, and homesteads. Yet many are killed by people who see them as pests, or by cats and dogs that hunt them.

The Hamster Rescue Center works to protect the animals by relocating them from private plots to areas away from people. The ongoing war has created additional challenges: blackouts in winter can leave hamsters without heat, while in summer, power outages can cause dangerously low ventilation, threatening their survival.

Journalists can learn more about Rusin’s work and, by prior arrangement, speak with him in Kyiv.

• animals
• Kyiv

Maksym Kharkivskyi is a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier serving in the Zaporizhzhia sector. In the spring of 2023, a bull found its way to his position. His comrades sent a message: “You have visitors”, and the soldier saw the animal walking along a mined path towards them. That same day, Maksym and a comrade evacuated the bull, named Martyn, to a safe location. Maksym started posting videos with the animal on TikTok, and Martyn became popular.

Shortly after, the soldier’s comrades rescued a wild boar: the animal had been injured by enemy shelling. Maksym took the boar in and named her Mashka. After recovering, she became a social media star alongside Martyn. A malnourished roe deer, found in a Kyiv forest, also joined “Maksym’s Ark”, as the soldier calls his animal farm. The young animal had lost its mother, so caring people fed it from a bottle and later contacted Maksym for help.

Thanks to the animals’ popularity on TikTok, Maksym manages to meet his unit’s needs — the soldier hosts live streams to raise funds. Over five streams, he managed to raise enough to purchase 100,000 hryvnias worth of drones. Maksym calls his animals military volunteers. He hopes that after the war, people will visit the farm to meet the animals and learn their stories.

Interviews with Maksym Kharkivskyi can be arranged online or in person, by prior appointment.

• animals
• military
• Zaporizhzhia

Oleksii Prytula is a veterinarian from Odesa. During the full-scale invasion by russia, he defended the country. In September 2022, he sustained severe injuries and lost both legs. He received prosthetics and underwent rehabilitation at the Superhumans Center in Lviv. Subsequently, he returned to work as a veterinarian in Odesa.

Oleksiy joined the national team that represented Ukraine this year at the first-ever Winter Hybrid Invictus Games in Canada (disciplines: curling, skeleton, alpine skiing, rowing on simulators). He also participated in the All-Ukrainian wheelchair rugby competitions. Additionally, he practices archery and wheelchair basketball.

Upon prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Oleksii in person in Odesa or online.

• animals
• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Odesa

Ukraine’s sole military veterinary facility, the First Military Hospital of Veterinary Medicine, operates in Khmelnytskyi. Its veterinarians provide care not only for service animals but also for the pets of displaced families. The hospital regularly treats animals with concussions or shrapnel wounds.

The hospital’s specialists also travel into frontline and recently liberated areas to rescue animals, making more than 50 such trips so far. One survivor is a fox from Bucha, discovered by children and brought to the doctors. Despite burns covering nearly 80 percent of its body, the animal was saved and still lives at the hospital.

Altogether, the hospital’s team has treated several thousand animals since the start of the full-scale war.

• animals
• doctors
• Khmelnytskyi

A can’t-miss celebration for pet lovers and their furry friends comes to Kyiv on September 27. 

This year’s gathering carries a major fundraising goal: raising 500,000 hryvnias to support Mariupol volunteer Mykhailo Puryshev. Once an entrepreneur, Puryshev has spent the past three years rescuing both people and animals from frontline areas, evacuating them from areas subject to constant enemy fire and delivering food and medicine.

The program includes a pet-friendly fair, speed dating for owners, an introduction to canine therapy, educational talks and discussions, creative workshops, lighthearted competitions for pets, and an evening of stand-up comedy.

For reference: The picnic is organized by the media platform #Shotam, known for covering positive news and stories, together with its partner Holy Doggy, a project dedicated to promoting canine therapy.

• animals
• culture
• Kyiv

Mykhailo Purin, 62, hails from Odesa but was in Kyiv when russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, he worked as a journalist, contributing articles to a Ukrainian media outlet. When the first explosions shook the capital, he volunteered for the army, drawing on his prior experience as a medical instructor in the Soviet military to serve in a similar role with the Navy’s river flotilla.

During his service, Purin patrolled rivers and participated in combat missions in the Kherson region, particularly around Krynky. After several years on the front lines, he retired in August 2024 upon reaching retirement age. Rather than settling into a quiet pensioned life, he sought a role that would give him purpose.

With guidance from Lobby X, an organization supporting veteran employment, Purin explored opportunities that aligned with his passions. He first took a position at Pethouse, a company specializing in pet food and shelter support, where he now manages supply chains. Beyond his day job, he volunteers with UAnimals, helping rescue and evacuate animals from conflict zones.

Purin is available for interviews both online and in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• animals
• military
• Kyiv