Not Without Them! Italian Man Refuses To Leave Ukraine Without The 400 Animals He Rescued

Pets, including dogs, cats, and other animals are often left behind when their human companions seek their safety first while fleeing from natural disasters or conflict zones.

In Ukraine, where a war is going on things are not different. While some have taken their animal companions along as they flee to another country, many have left their pets behind.

There are also others who have refused to leave the conflict zone without their loved animals.

Andrea Cisternino

An Italian man who runs an animal rescue center in Kyiv has refused to leave the under-attack Ukrainian capital without the 400 amimals in his shelter.

Andrea Cisternino, an Italian former fashion photographer who runs a sanctuary called Rifugio Italia KJ2 in Kyiv has decided to stay back in Ukraine with his animals.

Andrea Cisternino

Cisternino and his wife Vlada had established the International Animal Protection League charity fund in 2013, and in the following year, they built their shelter for homeless animals.

Currently, there are around 400 animals including dogs and others in the shelter.

¡°I will die here for my animals¡­ I have to think about saving a refuge and it¡¯s 400 guests who deserve to be protected at any cost,¡± he wrote on Facebook on February 24, the day Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

Since then he has posted videos showing military helicopters flying close to the shelter.

His last Facebook post was on February 25, in which he thanked everyone who supported him.

Though Cisternino has not posted any update on his whereabouts since several animals rights groups have posted on Facebook saying that he and his animals are safe for now.

Andrea Cisternino

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, krainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said Russian forces were trying to lay siege to Kyiv and the northeastern city Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest.

Russian troops fired artillery at Kyiv, Kharkiv and the southern port city of Mariupol overnight while the Ukrainian side shot down Russian military planes around the capital, Arestovych said in a televised briefing.

In strategic Kharkiv, an eastern city with a population of about 1.5 million, videos posted online showed explosions hitting the region's Soviet-era administrative building and residential areas.

AP

"I believe Russia is trying to put pressure (on Ukraine) with this simple method," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday in a video address, referring to stepped-up shelling. He did not offer details of the talks between Ukrainian and Russian envoys, but he said Kyiv was not prepared to make concessions "when one side is hitting another with rocket artillery.''

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