Hundreds of Dogs in Ukrainian Shelter Died of Hunger and Thirst During the War

Russian Retreat From Bucha Reveals Scores Of Civilian Deaths — BUCHA, UKRAINE - APRIL 04: A dog stands near the shellfire crater in the residential area on April 4, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has accused Russian forces of committing a "deliberate massacre" as they occupied and eventually retreated from Bucha, 25km northwest of Kyiv. Dozens of bodies have been found in the days since Ukrainian forces regained control of the town. Photo by Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

An animal shelter in Borodyanka, Ukraine was left for dead during the Russia-Ukraine war, an invasion that has triggered Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, where more than 4.2 million Ukrainians left the country and a quarter remain displaced.

Over 485 dogs in the shelter remained locked in cages from the start of the war, without any food or water, according to the charity UAnimals. When volunteers finally gained access to the building on April 1, more than 300 dogs were found dead, CBC News reported.

A footage uploaded by Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, has emerged on social media showing bodies of hundreds of dogs on the floor. A separate video posted by Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko on Telegram shows the surviving dogs from the Borodyanka shelter barking and crying for help, while volunteers walk around the carcasses.

"I have no words. Russians even killed dozens of dogs in Kyiv region," says Matviichuk with tears.

Dogs in Ukraine War

The UAnimals organization have been helping animal shelters financially and providing them with food since the beginning of the Russian attack. According to the group, their volunteers have now fed the dogs that survived and had 27 of the animals treated in private clinics.

While the charity has picked up some of the surviving dogs themselves, UAnimals offers 50,000 hryvnias - approximately $1,700 - to reward anyone who's willing to take what the charity described as the heaviest surviving dogs.

The Ukrainian news site Visegrad 24 also posted a video of Russian soldiers killing people's pets before they withdrew from the Ukrainian village of Velyka Dymerka, near Kyiv. "Why? Is this something they consider "fun"?" the news site said.

As Ukrainians have retaken control over several areas around the Kyiv region, they were left with relatively large aftermath left behind by retreating Russian forces.

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Animal Protection in Wartime

Russia's invasion, now in its sixth week, had left victims dead in streets. Ukrainian prosecutors investigate possible war crimes by Russia, describing the scenes as "genocide - the elimination of the whole nation and the people," Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said in an exclusive interview.

The war in Ukraine had also demonstrated the need for protection of other species in wartime. With people desperately fleeing out of the country, many animals are abandoned in their homes left to die. In a 2014 estimate, Ukraine shelters some 750,000 dogs and 5.5 million cats, now many of those are left behind, especially larger dogs, according to Vox.

"We cannot judge because we don't know how people feel when there is a real risk that you can be killed," Olga Chevganiuk of UAnimals. The animal welfare group, among others, are working around the clock to save stray animals and keep shelters running, but that "devotion can come with a cost", as some volunteers died during rescue.

It has also been a challenge to reach some places where animals suffer from starvation, cold, and stress because of danger and difficulty getting there.