- Title: Rescued puppies bring joy to Ukrainian soldiers fighting near Bakhmut
- Date: 6th December 2022
- Summary: NEAR BAKHMUT, UKRAINE (DECEMBER 5, 2022) (REUTERS) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER, VALERIIA (SURNAME NOT GIVEN), 28, CARRESSING PUPPIES / SAYING (Ukrainian): "So they don't get cold." PUPPIES NAMED RED AND BLACK SOLDIERS FEEDING PUPPY WITH MILK THROUGH SYRINGE VALERIIA HOLDING PUPPY / SAYING (Ukrainian): "I love them." SOLDIERS FEEDING PUPPY (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER, OLEKSII (SURNAME NOT GIVEN), 36, SAYING: "We came here about a week ago. We heard squealing (coming from the puppies) in the house after we began to clean up. It turned out, their mother left them. When we found them, we didn't think too much and called them 'Red' and 'Black'." VARIOUS OF RED AND BLACK (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER, OLEKSII (SURNAME NOT GIVEN), 36, SAYING: "We started feeding them in the first days. This one, Black, he's more shy, while Red is all over the place. Very self-assured. He will grow up to be a great dog." VALERIIA AND OLEKSII PUTTING STEWED MEAT INTO PLATE VARIOUS OF RED AND BLACK EATING STEWED MEAT (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER, VALERIIA (SURNAME NOT GIVEN), 28, SAYING: "Well, actually, we save animals from practically every battlefield we go to. Sometimes kittens, sometimes puppies. We put them into good hands, people take them, or our comrades take them to their families." VARIOUS OF OLEKSII CARRESSING RED SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE ON TABLE / PUPPIES PLAYING UNDERNEATH TABLE VARIOUS OF RED AND BLACK PLAYING
- Embargoed: 20th December 2022 11:46
- Keywords: bakhmut frontline puppies russian invasion ukraine
- Location: NEAR BAKHMUT, UKRAINE
- City: NEAR BAKHMUT, UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001472706122022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:In the middle of the bloody battle for control of Bakhmut, a strategic town in eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers found comfort and joy in caring for two puppies they rescued from a frontline village.
Black and Red, two newborns barely able to stand on their feet were found recently by Valeriia and Oleksii, soldiers of the Territorial Defence Unit operating in the area since September, shortly after it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
The motherless puppies were barely alive when the soldiers' unit entered the village, abandoned by its residents after their homes were razed to the ground by fighting in what has become one of the longest-running battles in Russia's war on Ukraine.
The first few days Valeriia and Oleksii, had to use a syringe to feed the puppies, after a few days Black and Red switched to military rations and now enjoy the staple meal of stewed meet and potatoes.
(Production: Vladyslav Smilianets, Stefaniia Bern, Anna Dabrowska) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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