Abandoned in east Ukraine, cats and dogs look for new homes in Russia

A volunteer holds a cat who is being evacuated to Russia amid Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine April 8, 2022. Picture taken April 8, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

(Reuters) - With the trunk of her car filled to the brim with pet carriers, Yulia drives across the conflict-torn Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine to pick up cats and dogs abandoned by owners who fled in the hope of finding them new homes in Russia.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, a Russian-backed separatist region, announced the evacuation of its residents to southeast Russia due to increased shelling days before Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a "special military operation".