Russian Military Looted Animals During Kherson Withdrawal... Criticism Over Animal Abuse

Advisor to Ukraine's Interior Minister Releases Looting Video via SNS
Animal Remains Found in Areas Withdrawn by Russian Troops

It has been reported that Russian troops retreating from the Kherson region in southern Ukraine stole animals from the Kherson City Zoo. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bora Lee] It has been revealed that Russian troops retreating from Kherson in southern Ukraine stole various local properties, including animals from the zoo.

Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, recently posted on his social media (SNS), "Russian troops stole animals from the local zoo while withdrawing from Kherson," and released a video. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also shared the same video, condemning, "Russian troops looted everything in Kherson, including paintings from art galleries, artifacts from museums, and rare books from libraries."

Earlier, the foreign media outlet The Washington Post (WP) reported that Russian troops stole seven raccoons, two female wolves, peacocks, llamas, and one donkey from the Kherson city zoo and transported them to areas occupied by Russian forces.

The released video shows soldiers presumed to be Russian troops forcibly lifting llamas, raccoons, and other animals from the zoo. When the animals resisted entering the truck, the soldiers even bent the llama’s legs to force it inside. The raccoons forcibly lifted by them appeared to be twisting their bodies in pain.

The video surpassed 400,000 views within two days and was shared over 3,000 times, sparking sharp criticism of the Russian troops’ actions. Some have even accused the Russian forces of animal abuse.

Earlier this month, when Russian troops withdrew from other parts of Ukraine, animal remains were found there. This led to speculation that the Russian troops, cut off from supplies and cornered, resorted to eating animals. According to local authorities at the time, two camels, one kangaroo, several piglets, birds, and wolves were killed.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Russian troops have looted. On the 13th, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko claimed that Russian troops stole agricultural drones, fuel, sowing equipment, and plant protection products worth 60 million dollars.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.