The eight-year conflict has wrought terrible tragedy on the humans involved. But there is another group which has been swept up in this whole sorry affair and is often overlooked - the region's animals. Pain, wounds, wandering, abandonment, and death - the fate of the animals in the conflict is a clear indication of what a global calamity this is.
This is the story of the animals of Donbass that became hostages and the area's most vulnerable victims, and of the real people who have been trying to save dogs, horses, birds and cats.
People were fleeing the war. When it became dangerous to live in Donbass, thousands of refugees left their homes and apartments. Many men stayed behind to defend their towns and villages, but they sent women, the elderly, and children as far away as possible from the bombs and shelling. They often took only the bare essentials which often excluded pets. But animals were abandoned even more frequently because their owners had been killed. There were...