Volunteers have rescued three pets – a cat, a dog and a hamster – from under the rubble of a high-rise building that was devastated by a large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv on the night of 27-28 August.

Source: Kyiv Animal Rescue Group

Details: The building is in Kyivʼs Darnytskyi district, the Kyiv Animal Rescue Group told Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia (Life). Specially trained workers from the organisation help to rescue pets from buildings damaged in Russian attacks.

One of the pets they rescued is a cat named Zhorik, who survived unscathed. His owners were not so lucky.

“They were rushing out of their apartment into the shelter: a mum, her son, and their cat in a carrier,” the volunteers said. "They didn’t make it. A moment later, their apartment was in ruins.

The child is in intensive care, and his mother is by his side," they added. “The cat’s carrier was still in the apartment, miraculously unharmed, and Zhorik is fine.”

*The carrier in which Zhorik the cat was found.*Photo: Kyiv Animal Rescue Group/Facebook

Rescue workers retrieved a seriously injured man from under the rubble in another apartment, where they also found a hamster.

“The rescue workers go into the next apartment and see an aquarium with a hamster inside,” the group says. “Then they hear moaning – the pet’s owner is alive, barely audible from under the rubble, but alive!”

“They quickly carry the aquarium out and start getting the man out. Eventually he is freed. His injuries are serious, and he is urgently taken to hospital,” the group added.

While clearing away rubble, State Emergency Service workers also found a small toy-breed dog who was wounded on one side.

The organisation said the owners’ apartment had been totally destroyed. A woman was taken to hospital in a serious condition, while her husband suffered only minor injuries.

The cat and dog are now in hospital. The hamster will also remain under the team’s care until their owners can collect it.

As they worked at the scene of the attack, the Kyiv Animal Rescue Group assisted rescue teams in pulling three people from the rubble and also searched for injured animals.

Their work was temporarily halted due to a sudden fire, but it has now been extinguished and search and rescue operations have resumed. There are still people and animals trapped under the rubble.

Background:

On the night of 27-28 August, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine using loitering munitions as well as air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. A total of 629 aerial assets were launched, 589 of which were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence.Fifteen people, including four children, have been killed and dozens of others sustained injuries in the large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv. The death toll may still rise.

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