PHOTOS: The adorable cats and dogs that have kept Ukrainian troops company in front-line trenches
- Photos show the dogs and cats Ukrainian soldiers keep as pets on the front lines.
- Pets have long accompanied troops in war, with some serving important operational roles and others there for morale.
In the midst of a gruesome conflict, Ukrainian troops have at times found furry friends to keep them company along the front lines.
Photos from the war show cats and dogs joining soldiers in the trenches, accompanying them while scouting for the enemy, or just hanging out in a moment of down time between fights.
Ukraine is certainly not the first battlefield where soldiers have kept cats, dogs, and other pets. Animals have long provided companionship during wartime.
Some famous examples include Crimean Tom, a Russian tabby cat adopted by British soldiers after the capture of Sevastopol during the 1854-1856 Crimean War. Tom, or a cat thought to be him, is now stuffed and on display at the National Army Museum.
In war, some front-line animals, dogs in particular, serve in operational roles. Detection canines, for instance, are trained to sniff out hidden explosives and point them out. That can save the lives of unsuspecting troops on the battlefield, as they did during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Cats can also be very useful for improving life in trenches, killing rats and pests that would otherwise be a nuisance to soldiers and potentially spread disease and eat rationed food. Russia is currently having a big rat problem in some of its front line trenches — emphasis on big, as the rodents appear to be quite large.
And in past conflicts, other animals like horses and elephants have been carried soldiers, equipment, and weaponry both in the heat of battle and behind the front lines. US government photos show a variety of animals employed during World War II, from mules to even very tiny, adorable puppies.
But sometimes troops, like those in Ukraine, will adopt pets simply for morale or as mascots, or will simply bring their cats or dogs from home to keep them company.
For some Ukrainian troops, pets have come to them, and some others are discovered on the battlefield.
While fighting to reclaim occupied Russian territory, soldiers have discovered abandoned and stray animals. Some, such as a cat named Coke who was rescued from the Coke Plant in Avdiivka, are then taken in by the unit that found them.
Coke's owner told the Kyiv Post that "he has been in service for almost a year now, and we have made him a member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' feline intelligence. We even made him a badge."
Coke apparently has some talent for warning soldiers of incoming Russian artillery, too. That's pretty useful in a war like that in Ukraine, where artillery battles have played a dominant role in the fighting.
"Coke seems to be able to sense enemy shelling before it starts and begins to meow, just like an air raid warning. In our experience, many of our animals can sense the approach of artillery strikes," his owner said.
