Animal shelter owner in Kyiv, Ukraine refuses to leave his 400 animals during Russian invasion

NEWS AND COMMENT-KYIV, UKRAINE: Andrea Cisternino, a former photographer from Italy, is being described as a hero for remaining at his animal shelter of 400 rescue animals in Kyiv (Kiev), the capital of Ukraine, while the Russians invade the country.

For me, the only animal story in town at the moment is how the people of Ukraine are protecting their companion animals and, in this instance, how Andrea is protecting his rescue animals. There must be other animal rescue workers behaving in a like manner. I’d like to hear about them. People need to think of the animals as well as the humans.

Bravely, he said that he would rather die than leave his animals. I can completely understand that. This man has poured his heart and soul into his rescue operation. He cares deeply about the welfare of his rescued animals. They mean more to him than his life.

The love of animals can create emotional bonds which are stronger than the human desire to survive. This man has a very deep connection with animal welfare.

The invasion of Ukraine by Putin has stepped up a notch in terms of violence after nearly a week. He is now bombing apartment blocks and there is a report that he used a vacuum bomb. This is a thermobaric bomb which is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high temperature explosion. It damages the internal organs. Perhaps it leaves the surrounding buildings intact.

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Putin has become more desperate. He had intentions of conquering Ukraine quite quickly, perhaps in a matter of days. It’s not worked out because of various factors such as the resistance of Ukrainians both in terms of soldiers and volunteers. The supply of armaments by European countries is another factor which so incensed Putin that he threatened nuclear war. He has twice threatened the possibility of nuclear war.

RELATED: Pictures of Ukrainians evacuating with their pets and in deep shelters.

It seems that he is prepared to push that little red button which I think is shocking. He needs to be stopped in any way possible. And his army has failings: getting lost, running out of petrol and food. Two Russian soldiers asked for food at a Ukrainian petrol station!

And there are reports of Russian soldiers stealing Ukrainians’ cars to escape the war. And I have read that they don’t want to shoot because they are unsure who they are shooting at. They can’t tell the difference between Russians and Ukrainians – understandable as there are many Ukrainian citizens who are Russians. They are the largest ethnic minority in the country.

Andrea has a Facebook page. It is a modest page because until now he wasn’t famous on the Internet. He is now become somewhat of a social media celebrity. He also has a YouTube channel which is also modest in terms of the amount of it is videos received. Here is one of his videos:

 
And this is how it works. This guy has been quietly going about his business of rescuing animals in Ukraine. Nobody really noticed except the animals who benefited. But now people are noticing because he’s doing something which is extraordinary but necessary. He is staying put in the face of a barrage from the Russian military.

He seen Russian military helicopters flying overhead while stocking up on supplies for his animals to enable them to get through another day. Animal advocates have labelled him a hero and have sent him their prayers and good wishes.

A tweet on Twitter states that he has remained at his shelter and is standing by his 400 rescue animals. The tweet is below.

Note: This is an embedded tweet. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.