War against Ukraine
On January 23rd, we were still engaging with the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv about the zoo and the safety and welfare of wild animals in the centre of Kyiv.
On January 24th, we published a blog about what would happen if war started.
That day, the horror became a reality.
When I wrote the blog, the Russian forces were spreading out along the Ukrainian border. Meanwhile, there were some preparations under way inside Ukraine for the animals. We were having conversations what would happen next and how we could help in the event of war. I had also been planning a 14th city on our training programme to Kramatorsk, a city in Donbas – the area invaded in 2014.
Now, as bombs started falling, life changed for the Ukrainians we have worked with since 1994.
And our work changed too.
We needed a quick strategy. The immediate concerns were for Natalie, our representative in Kharkiv, and our other contacts. Then we needed to focus on who was doing what to help the animals. The large animal charities wanted to become involved, so we linked them up with reliable groups inside Ukraine to make sure food and financial donations got to where they were most effective.
The last part of our plan would be a need to start thinking about how we help Ukraine rebuild but, of course, we know that journey is always going to be a very tough one indeed.
Every moment of every day for the past two weeks, we have checked on our friends and the animals and given updates through social media. We continue to try to guide those who are new to helping animals in Ukraine.
Now it’s our turn to fill a gap with a specific operation.
Naturewatch Foundation is about building partnerships with those who share our compassion and, for this next mission, we are working with DOTS (Dogs on the Streets), who care for animals of the homeless.
We’ll be travelling to the Ukrainian border to offer care and veterinary support for those fleeing the violence.
But, of course, we won’t stop there.
We’ve trained in Kyiv, Irpin, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kryvih-Rih, Mykolayiv, Cherkasy, Lutsk, Chernivtsi, Vinnitsia. We have run spay/neuter programmes in Kharkiv and Kupyansk. These are cities you’ll now be more aware of.
We’ve been helping Ukraine animals for 28 years, and we plan on being there for the long term.
If you would like to support our mission to the Ukrainian border, please donate here. Thank you.
