A heart for animals: Vera and Valeriy from Horenka

Vera has always loved pets. After fleeing the attacks on her home town of Horenka, she immediately noticed the many cats and dogs running around the streets, all thin and exhausted.

Vera's husband, Valeriy, has been driving through Horenka and the neighbouring villages collecting the animals left behind.

"It was impossible to sleep with all the animals so hungry," Vera says. They had over 40 cats and over ten dogs living with them in these days.

Little by little, refugee families are returning to the area. People are very grateful when they find their animals again. Vera and her husband are looking for 'good hands' for the other cats and dogs.

Valeriy did not hesitate to take in the abandoned pets, even though the house was partially destroyed by the attacks. "Almost all the windows were smashed," he says. The roof is broken. "It was a cluster bomb that hit upstairs."