A Ukrainian man who embarked on a dangerous journey and fled his country war-torn country in Romania was rescued from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures, along with an unlikely companion: his month-old kitten named Peach.
More than a dozen rescuers worked during a heavy snowstorm to rescue 28-year-old Vladislav Duda, who was found last week “soaked and frozen” and severely hypothermic in a 400-meter deep ravine in the northern Maramures region. the region’s mountain rescue service. Duda had fled Ukraine to avoid being drafted into his country’s armed forces fighting Russia.
“The cat was warm and warmed him… so it saved his life,” Dan Benga, director of the Maramures mountain rescue service, told the Associated Press. “The only thing we saw that he cares about is the cat. He doesn’t care about himself.”
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When the rescue team tracked down and found the Ukrainian, they unzipped his jacket and discovered Peach snuggled up in it. Benga remembers asking Duda if everything was okay, to which he replied: “I’m happy because my cat is alive. God gave me a chance for a new life. The happiest moment is because the cat is here with me” , Benga remembered Duda’s statement.
The chestnut kitten, a tomcat named ‘Peach’ in Ukrainian, suffered the effects of malnutrition after running out of food four days earlier and melted snow helped keep him alive.
“It’s like a dream. After everything I’ve been through, I just hoped to be found and survive,” Duda, who worked as a journalist in Ukraine, told the AP. “Peach kept my heart warm and he kept my faith alive.”
A helicopter retrieval was initially launched but was aborted due to dangerous weather that obscured visibility. Rescuers on the ground then began a grueling mission through deep snow and temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) until they reached the pair.
During the complex climb out of the ravine, which took more than five hours, the Ukrainian did not want to let go of his kitten. He held Peach to his chest “from bottom to top… until we put him in the ambulance,” Benga said. “He just said, ‘Please take care of the cat.'”
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On the verge of frostbite, Duda is now receiving anti-inflammatory drugs and blood circulation treatment, said Izabella Kiskasza, who runs a community center for Ukrainian refugees in Maramures and is assisting the duo. Peach received veterinary treatment at Baia Mare on Monday and is expected to make a full recovery.
Duda left his home in Ukraine’s war-torn Kharkiv region more than a week before becoming stranded with his feline companion in the curving Carpathian Mountains, which straddle northern Romania and southwestern Ukraine.
While Peach is the first feline to be rescued from the mountainous Romanian region, Duda is just one of many Ukrainian men who have risked their lives traversing the harsh conditions of the mountains to avoid being drafted into the grueling war of their country with Russia.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than 160 Ukrainian men have been rescued from Romania’s Maramures region and the numbers have doubled every year since, Benga said. Another 16 have been found dead.
Two other Ukrainian conscript men were rescued by helicopter on the same day as Duda, he said.
“A lot of people come, but they don’t have a medical problem… and they don’t call for help,” Benga said. “The people calling for help are in the last hours of their lives.”
Ukraine has taken steps to expand its pool of men eligible for conscription, but the efforts have only scratched the surface of a much larger Russian military. In April, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law lowering the age for men from 27 to 25.
Desertion is also depriving the Ukrainian army of much-needed manpower at a crucial time in the war with Russia. The US, which has also urged Ukraine to deploy more troops and allow conscription of people aged 18 and over, on Saturday announced a new $988 million military aid package for Ukraine in its war with Russia, while Washington rush to provide assistance to Kiev. for Newly elected President Donald Trump takes office.
“What I remember is the fear of the unknown and the fear of not making it through the night alive,” Duda recalled Monday. ‘My Peach kept me alive. When we escaped, we were afraid of everyone, lest we be sent back to fight in a war that is not ours.”
According to the United Nations, as of November 2024, there are almost 4 million displaced people in Ukraine worldwide and 6.8 million refugees from Ukraine have been registered worldwide.
According to the animal welfare group Four Paws, thousands of dogs and cats have been lost or abandoned since the war began. In 2022, a German organization set up a reception center on the border between Ukraine and Poland help save stranded pets.
