'Animals are traumatised too': Pet rescuers under fire in Ukraine

'Animals are traumatised too': Pet rescuers under fire in Ukraine13 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleVitaly ShevchenkoChief Analyst, BBC MonitoringZaporizhzhia city councilA dozen animals died in a Russian drone strike on this animal shelter in ZaporizhzhiaOn a morning in February, animal shelter staff were getting changed for their shift when a Russian drone slammed into the centre of their compound in the frontline Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.The steel door at the entrance probably saved their lives. More than a dozen animals sheltering at "Give a Paw, Friend" were not so lucky."It was terrifying, to put it mildly," says the group's head Iryna Didur.Residents rushed to help clean up the rubble and catch the animals that had escaped in terror. The local energy company - itself the target of relentless Russian attacks - installed a new steel door.Libkos/Getty ImagesMany Ukrainians have had to flee their homes without their pets"We've got very good people here in Zaporizhzhia. A lot of them have been visiting us to help, and we cleared almost all the rubble in three days," Didur tells the BBC.Hers is one of numerous groups catering to animals in need of food, veterinary care and shelter - or helping to evacuate the pets to safer areas.Others also neuter stray cats and dogs to stop their populations from growing.Countless pets were abandoned in Ukraine when their owners fled areas near the front line as they came under Russian bombardment.Other pets are struggling to survive because their owners have been killed.Lala Tarapakina/12 GuardiansLala Tarapakina says saving one animal can make many Ukrainians happyIt was the sight of abandoned and homeless dogs that moved Lala Tarapakina to get involved in the pet evacuations."That was the first time I witnessed the catastrophe affecting animals," said the head of the 12 Guardians charity, "they were walking along a road, and they obviously used...