More than 300 dogs were reportedly found dead at an animal shelter in Borodyanka, Ukraine, after being left without food or water since the start of the war.
“According to the charity UAnimals, the shelter’s 485 dogs remained locked in their cages from the beginning of the war in late February until the beginning of April, when Russian soldiers left Borodyanka and charity volunteers were able to return to the shelter. During that time, the dogs were left without any food or water, the charity said. By the time the volunteers finally gained access to the building on April 1, all but 150 of the 485 animals had died,” CBS News reported.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, who leads the nonprofit Center for Civil Liberties, tweeted a video showing the dead bodies of dogs on the floor of the shelter, which she narrates while crying.
“I have no words. Russians even killed dozens of dogs in Kyiv region. WHY??” Matviichuck wrote. The Daily Wire will not post the video.
Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian interior ministry adviser, also posted a video from the shelter, which showed surviving dogs barking at volunteers as they walked through the facility, avoiding bodies.
UAnimals told CBS that volunteers have now provided food and water to the surviving animals and taken 27 in the worst conditions to private veterinary clinics for treatment. The charity said it has so far only been able to rescue the heaviest dogs, and is offering $1,700 dollar rewards for people willing to help the other animals.
Animals are also hurting in Ukraine as Russia’s war continues. As The Daily Wire previously reported, brave veterinarians began traveling to battle zones to help injured animals.
As of March 22, Jakub Kotowicz, 32, had rescued more than 200 cats and 60 dogs, as well as other animals, the New York Post reported. Kotowicz reportedly started going to the war zone “last week as part of a caravan from Przemyśl on the Polish border,” the outlet noted.
“The animals he liberated included Vira, a dog with a bullet caught in her spine; and a pygmy goat with deformed legs, named Sasha,” the Post added. “Kotowicz hopes to adopt the goat, who now shares a comfy bed with several Chihuahuas.”
The outlet noted that Vira, the injured dog, will receive a wheelchair to help her mobility.
Kotowicz began his own animal rescue charity, the ADA Foundation, 15 years ago when he was just 17. It’s through that organization that he is helping injured animals in Ukraine. The young veterinarian now reportedly hopes to purchase an additional ambulance and open up a new hub to better help rescued animals and to use as a warehouse for packing supplies.
Unfortunately, some of the animals Kotowicz saved had to be put down, but others were able to be helped and will be re-homed throughout Europe, the Post reported. That is, if their owners can’t be found. The outlet noted that two cats have been reunited with their Ukrainian owners. Meanwhile, Kotowicz’s clinic has started a “dog village” to help lost dogs find their owners. If the owners can’t be found, the dogs will be put up for adoption.
“All the cats are very stressed, the journey from Lviv is one day and we crossed the border with a diplomatic pass but the queue from Ukraine was very long,” Kotowicz said, according to the outlet. “We are preparing the animals for an adoption process. Sometimes the animals which are in very poor condition will be with us for two or three months. Some people came here and were asking if we had their cat.”
Kotowicz is not alone in his endeavor. The Post noted that volunteers from Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the U.S. have also been helping Ukrainian animals, and British wildlife photographer Nick Tadd has helped raise nearly $80,000 for Kotowicz’s clinic.