In a race against time and encroaching danger, workers at a state-owned stud farm in southern Ukraine are executing a critical evacuation. Their precious cargo is not military hardware, but living, breathing horses caught in the crossfire of war.
A Mortal Threat Creeps Closer
For months, the threat to the Zaporizhzhia region stud farm has intensified. Russian air strikes have pounded the area, claiming civilian lives and posing a dire, mortal risk to the animals. The facility, which currently shelters about 130 horses, has become untenably dangerous. Some of these animals had already found refuge there after being moved from other parts of Zaporizhzhia or the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region earlier in the conflict.
"We are currently transferring the horses at this stud farm to other stud farms in Ukraine," explained Vitaliy Brovko, director of the state enterprise "Horse Breeding of Ukraine." This operation is a logistical and emotional challenge, requiring patience and courage as workers use hay and gentle coaxing to load the skittish animals onto lorries bound for safer grounds.
Scars of War on Animals and Humans
The trauma for these horses is not new. At the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, a missile struck the farm's stables, wounding one horse and leaving deep psychological scars on the others. Mykhailo Sych, a branch director, recounted the aftermath to AFP, describing how the terrified animals refused to enter their stables for two weeks, running towards them only to turn back in fear.
The constant stress of war has had severe physiological consequences. Farm worker Oleksandr Konyakhin revealed there have been cases where horses suffered miscarriages due to extreme stress. While the immediate area is not currently under direct fire, the distant rumble of explosions remains a grim soundtrack. "Now there are no strikes, only explosions can be heard, and the horses have gradually gotten used to it," Konyakhin noted, highlighting a tragic adaptation to violence.
A Wider Pattern of Animal Suffering
The plight of the Zaporizhzhia horses is a single chapter in a much larger story of animal suffering during the nearly four-year war. Russian strikes have repeatedly hit stables, farms, and zoos, causing massive casualties. In a horrific incident in October, a Russian drone attack ignited a fire on a farm in northeast Ukraine, killing approximately 13,000 pigs.
A month earlier, a large-scale Russian attack on the Kyiv region struck an equestrian club, killing seven horses. The Ukrainian foreign ministry condemned the September attack on social media platform X, stating, "Ukrainian animals have once again become targets of Russian missiles and drones." They appealed to the global conscience, adding, "The world cannot stand aside while a terrorist state takes lives –- human or animal -– every single day."
From zoos in Odesa, where a ram was killed in a June attack, to equestrian clubs and pig farms, the war's toll on fauna has been devastating and widespread.
Back at the Zaporizhzhia stud farm, the evacuation efforts continue relentlessly, with over a dozen transports already completed. The workers operate with a clear, urgent mandate. Vitaliy Brovko has declared that if the security situation deteriorates further, they are prepared to evacuate the entire stud farm, ensuring these majestic animals are not left to the mercy of war.
