VIDEO: Dog and cat take 12km drone trip as Ukrainian soldiers rescue them from war zone

A Ukrainian drone was used to fly a dog and a cat out of a warzone to keep them safe as Russian troops advanced to the frontline, according to reports. The animals are said to have flown 12 kilometres, according to the animal welfare group UAnimals, and are now being taken care of by the soldiers. Footage purportedly shows the dog being pulled out of a bag as the cat followed after. The 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade had sent supplies to the soldiers near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. On the return trip, the soldiers attached a bag with the dog and the cat, as the animals were not safe in the region. The soldier who took the dog and the cat out of the bag says to the cat, "Well, I've never flown on a drone before." He adds, "You'll be ours. Ah, she is already purring; she is content. Of course, she flew, she flew, she is very happy. We'll give you food, some proper food to eat." The 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade shared the video and wrote, "A unique case! The soldiers of the Knyazevskaya Brigade are people with a huge heart!" It added, "When the drone, having completed its work, was supposed to return, our brothers decided to use it to rescue a cat and a dog from a very dangerous area on the front line."

The footage of the animals is only from after they reached the location, and none from their flight. Animal rights activists agree that it was a risky thing to do, but UAnimals said that leaving them there was "even more dangerous", and the drone was the only way to get them out of there. "We thank the defenders for saving the most vulnerable," the group said. The cat belonged to a soldier who was in the hospital after sustaining war injuries. His fellow mates decided to rescue his cat. But a dog was around as well, and so they decided to send both of them out of the area.

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Animals saved in Ukraine war zone

Many such heartwarming news stories linked to animals from the Ukraine war zone have been reported in the past. In 2022, a Ukrainian woman packed 20 French bulldogs in a car as she fled her home outside of Kyiv. She later returned to rescue 30 more animals that could have died from the attacks. Olena Lukash, 57, from Kyiv, decided to flee to Poland after Russian bombs started landing near her house. She knew she had to rescue her "four-legged children" and did whatever she could to save them. Olena and her husband returned to their town that was now under Russia's control and rescued 30 more animals before fleeing to Vinnitsa, 278 kilometres from Kyiv.