1,000 Days of Saving Animals in Ukraine

Today marks 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Animal Rescue Kharkiv (ARK) has bravely worked since that day — in partnership with PETA Deutschland among others — to rescue, evacuate, rehome, and care for animals in the midst of war. Update November 23: The new video 1,000 Days of Mercy highlights some of this work.

From the very beginning, the Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund has been a proud supporter of this heroic work, through contributions to PETA’s Global Compassion Fund.

In the first weeks after Russia’s invasion, ARK and PETA Deutschland helped thousands of Ukrainian citizens evacuate to other European countries with their companion cats and dogs, while also rehoming companion animals left behind in Ukraine. Now as the war drags on, ARK continues working more courageously than ever to rescue animals from the front lines and facilitate their evacuation to safer domestic locations — and now, those animals include not only cats and dogs, but also horses, sheep, goats, chickens, pigeons, geese, ducks and many other species.

After ARK’s veterinary clinic was bombed in the early days of the war, PETA Deutschland quickly helped to rebuild the facility, which has continued providing life-saving medical care for hundreds of animals each week.

PETA Deutschland has also worked with ARK to deliver more than 3.7 million pounds of vegan animal food into Ukraine.

In June 2023, PETA presented ARK with its annual Gregory J. Reiter Animal Rescue Award — recognizing the profound impact of the organization’s lifesaving work for animals, which helps keep hope alive for the people of Ukraine, while also inspiring people around the world.

Regular updates from the field can be found at the PETA Ukraine Updates page, and on Animal Rescue Kharkiv’s YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.