She saved hundreds of animals: Ukrainian animal rescue volunteer Olha Kuzmenko killed in Russian attack – photo, videos
A volunteer who saved hundreds of cats and dogs by rescuing them from dangerous areas has been killed in Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, in a Russian guided aerial bomb strike.
Source: 12 Vartovykh (12 Guards) charity on Facebook
Details: Olha Kuzmenko went out every day to rescue and feed stray animals in the frontline city, the charity reported.
Quote: "She was a regular volunteer: we evacuated and saved countless animals – hundreds if not thousands – together. The last dog from her that we rehomed was Buba. After that it was mostly cats – she was more concerned for them than for herself.
The last time we were in contact was 7 July, and by 8 July she had stopped appearing online. Olia won't see the photos of happy Buba in our feed, but she did know Buba had a new family."
Olha did not live in Druzhkivka itself, but in an even more dangerous settlement near the village of Raiske. She refused to evacuate not because of the animals, but because her husband was reluctant to leave.
Quote: "We and other colleagues offered dozens of times to help her leave and be safe. Olia was resolute.
We are writing this post so that everyone who encountered Olia will think of her and her life."
Another organisation, Rehabilitation & Adoption of Rescued Animals, described the volunteer as "a small, quiet woman, but her courage was immense".
Quote: "During her lifetime, Olia would always rejoice like a child when animals she had rescued and handed over for evacuation found homes with people. Not in cages in shelters somewhere, but in new homes.
Today, the last two cats from Olia – Tryufel and Husar – arrived in Dresden, Germany, with their new owner."
In a recent Facebook post, Olha said she travelled five kilometres to Druzhkivka every day to take care of the animals there.
Quote from Olia: "There are locations where I feed the animals, and I also meet some along the way. I always have water and wet, dry and mixed food on my e-bike [for such occasions].
I'll be honest – I don't сover the whole city. It's pretty big, and there are some districts it's genuinely frightening to go to now. So I talk to people at the invincibility centre who feed dogs and cats, and leave food with them." [Invincibility centres are stocked with food and power banks to help people during power cuts – ed.]
Olha left behind 10 dogs and 20 cats. Volunteers will now do their best to take them to Kramatorsk and eventually find new families for them.
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