A young man sits on the platform of a Kyiv metro station, in Ukraine. Beside him are the bags he hastily packed together with his family before fleeing the advance of the Russian army, which since Thursday the 24th has invaded the country. In his arms he holds his dog. A little further along, a couple checks the news on their phone. Sitting between them is a poodle. On the streets of the capital, a man steps over a barrier tape. In one hand he carries a pet carrier with a cat, in the other a glass bowl with a fish inside. In the countryside, a soldier holds a kitten close. Two people repair the window of a shelter while a couple of dogs follow their every move.

Despite the war tearing the country apart, citizens and volunteers refuse to abandon the animals they live with, whether residents of shelters or fleeing the cities. We managed to speak with some of the organisations — Ukrainian and otherwise — that in these dramatic days are risking their lives to care for them. These are their stories.

Some animal shelters have been bombed

"We are not leaving, there is no way to move the animals safely." This is the unanimous response coming from shelters across Ukraine. Many of these are located in the countryside or outside built-up areas, have sustained bombardments and air raids, and must now contend with power cuts and dwindling reserves of food and water.

"We are trying to gather as much information as we can, to understand their conditions and help as quickly as possible where it is needed." This is what Nastya Aboliesheva, communications coordinator of the Ukrainian NGO Happy Paw, tells us; she has been trying for days to contact shelters in order to provide assistance.

"The most tragic situation, for the moment, appears to be that of Gostomel. The facility is located near the airport and fighting has been going on there for at least three days. Because of the bombardments, there is neither water nor electricity. On the night of the 1st [March, ed.] a missile struck the Best Friend shelter. Half of the enclosures were destroyed by fire. For the moment, it seems the animals survived, but they had to be released. What is happening is a catastrophe. Four shelters near Kyiv are cut off because of the fighting: Gostomel, Best Friend, Sirius (the largest shelter in all of Europe) and the municipal one in Borodyanka. The dogs are terrified and many have died of fright or been killed by bullets," she continues.

For days the Russian air force has also been flying over the Rifugio Italia Kj2, run by Italian Andrea Cisternino, a reference point for animal rights in the country that is home to creatures of every kind, from dogs to pigs and horses. "This morning the sky around the Rifugio was red. [There was] continuous artillery fire throughout the night, it's impossible to sleep, fifteen minutes ago I saw an artillery shell land far from the Rifugio but I could clearly smell the gunpowder, I could hear military columns moving in the distance, planes flew overhead. God help us and damn whoever wanted to start all this," he wrote in a Facebook post on 25 February.

A similar situation is that of the Domazhyr sanctuary run by the NGO Four Paws. The facility is home to 29 bears and is located in the westernmost part of Ukraine. "There have been air strikes in this area too — they tell us — but for the moment we are all right, despite everything."

One of the activities that all the organisations have necessarily had to suspend is the sterilisation of stray animals. In Ukraine, as in Romania, the problem of strays is very widespread and for years NGOs and volunteers have been trying to keep new births under control. "We are monitoring the situation, but there is not much we can do. As soon as things are a little calmer, we will decide what to do. For the moment it is not safe."

Food, water and medicine are urgently needed because of the war in Ukraine

The most serious problem remains the supply of food, water and medicine, in addition to the fact that the bombardments have damaged the electricity grid, leaving some areas without power. "We have many offers from organisations abroad that could bring us resources, but the problem is that they would have to stop at the border," Olga Chevganiuk, co-founder of UAnimals, explains to us. "The roads are not safe and we cannot find anyone to transport the resources from the border to the shelters."

The company that usually supplies us cannot reach us because it is too dangerous. And we cannot ask someone else to do it — it would be suicide.

Olga Chevganiuk, co-founder of UAnimals

The only solution, for the moment, appears to be to collect and send money, with which volunteers can buy locally what they need. And indeed several organisations have launched fundraising campaigns, among them Oipa, the Organizzazione internazionale per la protezione degli animali.

"Yesterday a colleague of ours in Kyiv managed to buy all the food he could find in a supermarket in the area and, together with other volunteers, brought it to a shelter where more than 500 cats live," Aboliesheva continues, with the awareness that this is an exception.

Moving through the streets is too dangerous

The enormous danger posed by the streets is also the main reason why volunteers cannot move the animals. "Logistically, it wouldn't be possible. The streets are too dangerous," concludes Aboliesheva. "We've received dozens and dozens of messages from other international organisations who have offered to meet us at the border and take care of our animals, have them adopted," but the problem is precisely getting to the border. "The Poles offered to take our dogs and find them a family in their country, but the roads are closed and we have no way of reaching them," Chevganiuk echoes.

The only thing they can do now, they tell us, is wait for the Russian troops to withdraw and for movement to become safer. "Until then we will keep sending money," Chevganiuk concludes.

The situation for pets during the war in Ukraine

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are trying to flee the country together with their animals. They have brought them into metro stations and have no intention of being separated from them. They are part of the family, as they should be. They hold them close during the bombardments and together they too are trying to cross the border.

The European Commission has advised all member states to relax the requirements for veterinary documentation for pets travelling with refugees, so that they are not left stranded one step away from safety because of bureaucratic issues. "Those seeking refuge will be greatly relieved to know that they can make evacuation plans to EU countries with their companions without unnecessary delays," said Ruud Tombrock, executive director of the European division of the NGO Humane society international. Italy's Ministry of Health authorised, on Monday 28 February, the entry of animals without documents.

We hope that this stance – and this compassion – on the part of the Union can set a precedent and be replicated around the world, in similar conflict situations. People should not have to put their own safety at risk in an attempt to prevent their animals from being abandoned.

Ruud Tombrock, executive director Humane society international Europe

In Italy, the association Lav (the Lega antivivisezione) immediately activated its emergency unit in several Italian cities – including Trento, Genoa, Bolzano and Bologna – to assist those who have managed to reach the country and provide veterinary care. It has also allocated a fund of ten thousand euros to support the organisations mentioned earlier and has provided aid to Animal shelter sirius, the largest shelter in Ukraine.

The conflict still seems far from over, but these stories stand as a powerful counterweight to the fear of these days. And they teach us that even amid all the horrors of a war, love and respect for another living being can prevail.