An unusual scene on the Ukrainian front. The National Border Guard Service reported on Tuesday May 12 that it had rescued a deer trapped in an anti-drone net during a combat mission. “Even in the darkest moments, we remain human, because it is for life itself that we fight,” the fighters said on Facebook.
The rescue took place during a combat mission carried out by the “Striks” drone unit of the 4th Ukrainian Border Detachment. According to the video published on social networks, the frightened deer was stuck in a protective net designed to prevent the advance of Russian drones.
Unable to free itself from the mesh, the animal was able to count on the help of the soldiers who cut the net. Once freed, the deer returned to the forest.
Fauna and flora, collateral damage of war
This is not the first incident of this type reported by the army. Already in January, Ukrainian soldiers intervened to free an owl trapped in an anti-drone net and fiber optic lines.
In four years, the war in Ukraine has caused significant damage. On Thursday evening alone, more than 650 drones and 56 missiles targeted the country in a massive nighttime attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The offensive left one dead and around thirty injured, 48 hours after the expiration of a truce with Russia.
The destruction of the environment and ecosystems is one of the collateral damages of war. Its scale remains difficult to assess, particularly in areas occupied by Russian troops.
“The air, land and water have been polluted because of the fighting,” said Victoria Kireeva, Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Environmental Protection, during COP28 in Dubai in December 2023. Already at the time, the The total amount of emissions was estimated at 150 million tonnes of CO2, or “more than the annual emissions of a highly developed country like Belgium”.
