“On the way, we picked up abandoned animals. At checkpoints, soldiers were already waiting for us with pet food”

Noah’s Ark on the roads of Ukraine – that’s how one could describe the three buses that volunteer Oleksandr Liapin used to transport dozens of animals from Kyiv to Poland. An artist, journalist, and animal rights activist not only evacuated the animal shelter but also picked up animals abandoned by their owners along the way. Soldiers at the checkpoints already knew about his animal convoy and threw bags of pet food into his buses without stopping them.

Many caring people helped the caravan with housing, logistics, and food. The 10 kilometers of the pedestrian border crossing are now behind them, as is Poland, where many animals found shelter. The endpoint of the journey for dozens of dogs and cats was the Austrian countryside. And Oleksandr returned to Ukraine and continues to work and create here.