Brussels 14.08.2024 Hundreds of companion-animals have been abandoned in the Kursk region. Their owners left them to die in locked apartments and houses when they were evacuated. Elena Goryuchkina, director of the Kursk shelter “Good City,” said that volunteers are currently unable to help their furry friends due to the difficult operational situation in the border areas of the region.
https://dailystorm.ru/obschestvo/volontery-ne-mogut-pomoch-sotnyam-zapertyh-domashnih-zhivotnyh-v-kurskoy-oblasti

“The main problem now is that we need to find some way to save the animals that are left where the fighting is currently taking place. People left in a hurry, leaving them behind. Some are in apartments, some in houses, and some have them chained up in an enclosure. If the animals are not saved there, they will die a painful death from thirst and hunger. We need to make some decisions with the military; we cannot let the animals die,” Elena Goryuchkina shared with Daily Storm.

(Image below: illustration. Many Russians keep dogs on chain in countryside).

The volunteer does not dare to go to the shelled areas alone. She also cannot ask anyone to risk their life.

“I am ready to personally help with food, with anything. I am simply afraid to go there, I am a woman, I am scared. Even if I overcome my fear, I am not sure that I can do anything on my own,” the woman noted.

People who left their four-legged friends during the evacuation contact the shelter every day. They beg volunteers and the remaining locals to break the windows in their houses so that the animals have a chance not to die of thirst and hunger.

“They do not regret anything, the main wish is to let the animal out on the street. It is painful to listen to such conversations, something needs to be done about it. Obviously, in conditions where evacuation is almost impossible, it is very difficult to transport such a large number of dogs to a safe place, dry food and water need to be delivered there, some basins need to be placed so that the animals have access to food and water. There will be no problems with food, I think many people will agree to help, but how to get there?” — Elena Goryuchkina added.

Some regional authorities have already joined the effort to solve the problem of pets locked within four walls. For example, the head of the Krasno-yaruzhski (Краснояружский) region, Andrei Miskov, said that national guards will feed the remaining pets. To do this, those in need must submit a request to the local administration.

The fate of many people who did not have time or did not want to evacuate from border areas also remain unknown.

There are currently no signs that the military is ready to help abandoned animals and free them from chains in their enclosures. The situation is in stark contrast to a similar situation during the Russian invasion, when many Ukrainians carried their pets with them during the evacuation in bags, backpacks and caddy bags.

More than two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, the war has displaced more than 11 million people, including 5 million inside the country. Human and animal lives and safety are so often inextricably intertwined; some Ukrainian families refuse to evacuate without their cherished pets, who provide love, comfort and a sense of normality to their lives in situation of crisis. And many have faced hardship in providing for themselves and their companion animals as their lives were suddenly upended.

Across Europe, our Humane Society International colleagues have been helping Ukrainian refugees and their pets since March 2022, providing emergency funding, access to veterinary care and supplies such as pet food, pet carriers and blankets. With the generous support of Mars Inc., we and our partners have been able to help thousands of people and their pets in the worst of circumstances both inside Ukraine and in other European countries receiving refugees.