Ukrainian man fleeing war rescued with his kitten on dangerous journey through Romanian mountains

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Ukrainian man who fled the war-torn country to Romania on a perilous journey was rescued from a deep mountain gorge in subzero temperatures with his months-old baby. The cat’s name is Peach.

Last week, more than a dozen rescuers reportedly rescued 28-year-old Vladislav Duda during a severe snowstorm. He was found “soaked and frozen” in a deep canyon with a severely reduced body temperature. Duda fled Ukraine to avoid being drafted into the army to fight Russia.

“The cat was warm and was keeping him warm… so he saved his life,” Dan Benga, director of the Maramures Mountain Rescue Service, told The Associated Press. “We saw him The only thing he cares about is the cat.

When the rescue team located and found the Ukrainian man, they unzipped his jacket and found Peach nestled inside. Benga recalled asking Duda if he was okay, to which he replied: “I’m happy because my cat is alive. I got a chance for a new life from God. The happiest moments are because the cat is with me.” ,” Benga recalled Duda saying.

The auburn kitten, a tomcat whose Ukrainian name is Peach, was experiencing the effects of malnutrition after running out of food four days ago and being kept alive by melting snow.

“It’s like a dream, after everything I’ve been through, I just want to be found and survive,” Duda, who works as a journalist in Ukraine, told The Associated Press. “Peach warms my heart, he makes my Faith lasts forever.

A helicopter rescue was initially initiated but was aborted due to dangerous weather affecting visibility. Rescuers on the ground then began the arduous task of reaching the two men through thick snow and temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).

During the complicated climb out of the canyon, which lasted more than five hours, the Ukrainian never let go of his kitten. He “went from bottom to top … until we got him into the ambulance,” Benga said.

Izabella Kiskasza, head of the Ukrainian Refugee Community Center in Maramureş, who is helping the two, said Duda was suffering from frostbite and was receiving anti-inflammatory medication and blood circulation treatment . Peach received veterinary care at Baia Mare on Monday and is expected to make a full recovery.

More than a week after Duda left his home in Ukraine’s war-torn Kharkiv region, he and his feline companions were trapped in the arching Carpathian Mountains that span northern Romania and southwestern Ukraine.

Peach is the first cat to be rescued from the mountains of Romania, and Duda is just one of many Ukrainian men who have risked their lives crossing the harsh conditions in the mountains to avoid being drawn into Ukraine’s brutal war with Russia.

Benga said more than 160 Ukrainian men have been rescued from Romania’s Maramures region since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, with the number doubling every year since then. A further 16 people were found dead.

He said two other Ukrainian conscripts were rescued by helicopter on the same day as Duda.

“A lot of people come, but they don’t have health problems… and they don’t ask for help,” Benga said. “Those seeking help are in their last hours of life.”

Ukraine has taken steps to expand conscription, but those efforts have only scratched the surface against the much larger Russian military. In April, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law lowering the draft age for men from 27 to 25.

Desertion also left the Ukrainian army short of much-needed manpower at a critical moment in the war with Russia. The United States has also urged Ukraine to recruit more troops and allow the recruitment of soldiers as young as 18 years old.

“What I remember is the fear of the unknown, the fear of not making it through the night alive,” Duda recalled Monday. “My peaches kept me alive. When we fled, we were afraid of everyone and didn’t want to be sent back to fight in a war that was not ours.