Twenty French Bulldogs were photographed slaughtered in a car as their Ukrainian owner fled Russian bombs at her home outside Kyiv and even returned to the war zone to rescue 30 more “defenseless animals”.
Yelena Lukash, 53, from Kyiv, said she “didn’t believe a war could start” in her home country until Russian shells started falling near her home after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine began.
However, the 53-year-old woman soon realized that she would have to save her “four-legged children” from a terrifying threat when she decided to run away from home and go to Poland.
Photographs show 20 dogs crammed into a kennel owner’s Hyundai Tucson for a four-day trip, the dogs blissfully unaware of the horror they were fleeing.
Remarkably, after Elena and her husband Alexander left the dogs in Poland, they returned to their Russian-occupied city to rescue 30 more dogs and then fled to Vinnitsa, 173 miles from Kyiv.
The war, started by Russian President Vladimir Putin, is now in its fourth week as his forces failed to take Kyiv, a key target in their hopes of forcing a settlement or determining the country’s future political landscape.
Twenty French Bulldogs were photographed slaughtered in a car as their Ukrainian owner, Olena Lukash, 53, fled Russian bombs at her home outside Kyiv and even returned to the war zone to rescue 30 more “defenseless animals”.
After Elena and her husband Alexander left the dogs in Poland, they returned to their Russian-occupied city to rescue 30 more people before fleeing to Vinnitsa, 173 miles from Kyiv.
On Friday, shelling was also carried out in other Ukrainian cities: Lvov in the west of the country, the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv in the east came under shelling.
Rockets and shelling hit the outskirts of Kyiv, as well as Lviv, close to Ukraine’s western border with NATO countries such as Poland.
The 53-year-old breeder from Kyiv faces a similar grueling trip back to Poland next week, but Elena admits the money is running out fast.
The couple has to pay £378 (UAH 14,699) every week just to feed the dogs.
Elena from Kyiv, Ukraine said: “My dogs are my children. My job is my dogs. These are all French Bulldogs – my favorite breed for 30 years now.
“I did not believe that a war could start. For the first week, I thought that everything would end quickly, then shells began to fall near the house and I realized that I needed to save my four-legged children.
“I took the first batch of dogs [10 dogs and 10 puppies] to Poland on March 9th. The journey took me four days. There is a lot of traffic on the roads.
“I returned home when our village was occupied by Russian troops and took out the rest of the dogs and puppies. [20 dogs and 10 puppies].
“Now we are 300 km from the fighting, but I plan to move all my dogs to a safe place in Europe.
“I really love my dogs. I am ready to do anything to save the lives of defenseless animals. I have the strength and I do for this.
“They are obedient, and I am strong. I manage. Most importantly, we are all together and safe.”
The 53-year-old breeder from Kyiv faces a similar grueling trip back to Poland next week, but Elena admits the money is running out fast. Every week, the couple has to pay 378 pounds (14,699 Ukrainian hryvnias) just to feed the dogs (pictured Elena with her husband Alexander).
Olena is now in Vinnitsa in central Ukraine with the remaining dogs, but claims they need money for food, medicine and fuel to continue their rescue operation.
Elena said: “I am with dogs in Ukraine, the city of Vinnitsa, with my friend. We need funds for food, medicine for the dogs, and fuel for the car to keep going.
“Thousands of people write to me. I don’t even have time to read everything.
“I try to let people know that I need help. Some people help financially, the rest sympathize.
“All American friends are generally silent – they don’t want to help.
“So far I have returned to Ukraine once. I need to make two or three more trips.
“I never counted how much I spend on dogs, but I think that [£378] a week would be enough for me to feed them all.
The married animal lover says she will continue rescuing other dogs as soon as she gets them to safety, and is even forming groups in neighboring countries to ensure rescued dogs find a safe home for the long haul.
“You can’t count on medicines and help, because all this happened spontaneously. Gasoline is very expensive now.
“I need to raise money for the long term and find families for my puppies.”
The married animal lover says she will continue rescuing other dogs as soon as she gets them to safety, and is even forming groups in neighboring countries to ensure rescued dogs find a safe home for the long haul.
Olena said: “First, I have to provide my dogs with a safe place in Europe, and then I will help other dogs from Ukraine.
“We have already created groups and selected people to bring animals from Poland and Romania around Europe, but they also need financial assistance for fuel.
“There is a lot of work, but I have very little energy right now.
“Without my husband, I wouldn’t be able to handle this situation.”
Elena remains in Ukraine for the time being, after a total of 3 million people have left the country since the invasion began last month, according to the UN.
Attacks on her hometown near Kiev continue as Russian forces continue to try to take over the Ukrainian capital.
A Ukrainian civilian injured by glass fragments in a Russian airstrike evacuates from an apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine.
A man walks past a damaged apartment building after shelling in the Podolsky district of Kyiv.
A man with a dog talks to a Ukrainian soldier next to shelled cars in Kyiv
A view of a destroyed preschool in a residential area of Kyiv after shelling during the Russian invasion.
View of a destroyed preschool institution in a residential area of Kyiv.
Vladimir Putin’s efforts to achieve his main goal of capturing Kyiv continued with attacks on the capital and Lvov in the early hours of Friday.
Currently, the dividing line runs about 15 kilometers from Kyiv, where Russian troops are still trying to surround the capital with a slow advance.
Meanwhile, in the southeastern city of Mariupol, hundreds of people are feared trapped under the rubble of a Russian-bombed theater.
Evacuees spoke of the “hell” they endured after 130 people were rescued, but hundreds are still missing.
Perhaps they are buried under the rubble in one part of the bomb shelter and cannot be evacuated, since the rescue services have been destroyed by Russian troops.
Ukrainian politician Serhiy Taruta wrote about the disaster on Facebook: “No one understands. Services that are supposed to help have been demolished, emergency rescue and utility services … physically destroyed. Many doctors have died.
“That means that all the survivors of the bombing will either die under the ruins of the theater or have already died.
Survivors of the blockade have described how people are left to bleed or burn alive in the streets because doctors can’t reach them or hospitals are destroyed.
Bodies have been covered in thin layers of soil in makeshift burials while the city is under attack and resource constrained.
Hundreds of people fear they are trapped in underground bomb shelters at the Mariupol theater, which was destroyed in a Russian airstrike on Wednesday night.
Rescuers are trying to dig through the rubble to reach the bomb shelters, but the city’s mayor warns that the building is still being shelled, meaning work is slow and “very, very dangerous.”
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