Saved hundreds of animals: Ukrainian zoo volunteer Olha Kuzmenko killed in Russian attack – photo, videos

Zoo volunteer Olha Kuzmenko, who saved hundreds of cats and dogs by rescuing them from dangerous territory, has been killed in Druzhkivka in Donetsk Oblast in a Russian guided aerial bomb strike.

Source: 12 Vartovykh (12 Guards) charitable foundation on Facebook

Details: Olha engaged daily in rescuing and feeding stray animals in the frontline city, the foundation reported.

"Our regular applicant, with whom we evacuated and saved countless animals – hundreds if not thousands. The last dog from her that we rehomed was Buba. After that it was mostly cats, whom she worried about more than herself.

The last time we were in contact was 7 July, and by 8 July she had stopped appearing online. Olia will no longer see the photos of happy Buba in our feed, but she knew the animal was with a new family," the foundation shared.

The volunteer did not live in Druzhkivka itself but in an even more dangerous settlement near the village of Raiske. Olha refused to evacuate not because of the animals, but because of her husband's reluctance.

"Dozens of times, both we and other colleagues offered 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," the foundation added.

The Rehabilitation & Adoption of Rescued Animals organisation said the volunteer was "a small, quiet woman, but her courage was immense".

"During her lifetime, Olia always rejoiced like a child when the 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," the volunteers added.

In one of her recent Facebook posts, Olha said she travels five kilometres to Druzhkivka every day to take care of the animals there.

"There are locations where I feed the animals, and I also meet some along the way. I always have water, dry and wet food and porridge on my e-bike for such occasions.

I'll be honest – I don't travel all over the city; it's not small, and there are already districts where it is genuinely frightening to go. So I speak with people at the invincibility centre [a premise stocked with food and power banks to assist residents facing hardships due to power cuts – ed.] who feed dogs and cats, and leave food for them," the volunteer wrote.

Olha left behind 10 dogs and 20 cats, which volunteers will now try to transport to Kramatorsk and eventually find new families for.

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