A Ukrainian animal rescuer has said he is “grateful to be alive” after his car was struck by a Russian drone while rescuing a group of stranded dogs from near the frontline. Ruslan Horbal, a volunteer for Animal Rescue Kharkiv (ARK), was on a rescue mission in Ukraine’s war-torn eastern city of Kramatorsk, when a Russian drone hit the vehicle, killing one of the rescued dogs. He had only just gathered the animals into the back of the car when the attack took place.
There was an explosion, smoke and glass everywhere,” recalls Mr Horbal, who was hospitalised after the attack, in an interview with The Independent. It took me a moment to understand what had happened. Then I started checking if everyone was alive and if the animals were OK.
That’s when I realised I was badly injured too. There was a lot of blood.” Mr Horbal, 43, says he and a French volunteer, called Florian, are lucky to be alive after being severely injured in the drone attack on Kramatorsk, one of the most heavily-bombarded Ukrainian cities in the eastern Donetsk region. Florian was badly injured in the arm and eye, while Mr Horbal suffered wounds to his eye and ear.
He was pulled from the vehicle by Mr Horbal, who applied a tourniquet on his arm, before urgently changing the car’s damaged tire and driving them to a hospital in Kramatorsk. Both required surgery after the strike on 31 August. The ARK, which is financially supported by PETA, has brought more than 32,500 animals in Ukraine to safety since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The work is extremely dangerous, with volunteers weaving in between missiles, drones and shelling as they seek out stranded animals who are trapped in frontline areas from which civilians have fled. But the animals are still there. They cannot understand the war, and they cannot get themselves to safety.
We are always listening, always watching the sky.” He adds: “I know how lucky we were. But I also know there are still animals near the front line who need us.” The Kharkiv and Donetsk regions are among the deadliest regions in Ukraine, coming under heavy, sustained Russian bombardments. Kharkiv city has been a primary target of Russian assault since February 2022.
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