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A Ukrainian woman made animal rescue a priority during the Ukraine-Russia war.
Natalia Popova, 50, continues to travel to war zones where she has already located and rescued hundreds of animals, before rehabilitating them and finding them a permanent home elsewhere in Europe.
“Nobody wants to go there. Everyone is afraid. I’m also afraid, but I go there anyway,” Popova said. “I am very sorry for them. I can imagine the stress that animals are subjected to due to war and no one can help them.”
“They are my life,” he added, “My mission in this war is to save wild animals.”
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Popova said he has traveled all over Ukraine, including war zones, and has already saved more than 300 animals from the war.
“I love them and understand that I don’t have the resources to provide them with the comfortable life they deserve,” she added.
After locating and capturing the animals, he returns to a rehabilitation center, where he provides them with care and begins the process of finding them a new home.
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In collaboration with the animal protection group UA Animals, 200 of the rescued creatures were sent overseas while 100 found new homes in western Ukraine.
Many of the animals he found were once wild, but were kept in private homes as pets before their owners were forced to flee the Russian invasion.
Natalia Popova has already saved more than 300 animals from the war, 200 of which have been sent abroad and 100 have found homes in most of the western regions of Ukraine.
(Photo AP / Efrem Lukatsky)
For months, Popova has been pushing into the hot spots of the war. She also financed her refuge with her own funds before the Russian invasion of Ukraine derailed her horse business.
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Now, Popova has been forced to borrow money and continues to do so as she needs more than $ 14,000 a month to keep the animals healthy and fed. Her personal debt has grown to $ 200,000.
She has since partnered with UA Animals, who help her transport it and help offset some costs.
“I’ll take money anyway, go to the hot spots and save the animals. I can’t say no to them,” Popova said.
Most of the animals he saves know nothing, not their names, ages or previous ownership.
“Animals don’t show up when they come to us,” he joked.
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It now houses 133 animals. The menagerie includes 13 lions, a leopard, a tiger, three deer, wolves, foxes, raccoons and roe deer and other domestic animals such as horses, dogs and cats.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
