Since the early hours of this Thursday, Russia began an ɪɴᴠᴀsɪᴏɴ of Ukraine. It is a conflict that has left a ᴅᴇᴠᴀsᴛᴀᴛɪɴɢ balance and that has not only affected citizens but also animals. A rescuer refuses to abandon his animals despite the ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs situation they are suffering in Ukraine, which has left unfortunate losses at the hands of the actions carried out by Russia.
Andrea Cisternino has been living in Ukraine for 13 years, not far from Kyiv, where he created his own award-winning animal shelter. Originally a fashion photographer from Italy, Cisternino married a Ukrainian woman. He tells us that they don’t want to have to abandon the 400 animals they have rescued so far in his shelter.
In an area near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, the Italia JK2 refuge is located, in which more than 450 animals of various species live, from horses to chickens. Andrea Cisternino is the founder of the animal shelter that shocked the world with his decision to stay by their side to protect them.
“Now I have to think about saving a shelter and it’s more than 400 guests who deserve to be protected at all costs, that’s what I will do. I prefer to ᴅ.ɪ.ᴇ than let my companions ᴅ.ɪ.ᴇ alone,” said the rescuer.
Despite the serious r.i.s.k of staying in the area, Andrea is so committed to protecting the animals that he cannot conceive of abandoning them. The rescuer assures that his priority is to protect the animals of his shelter.
Currently, the shelter has facilities of 20 thousand square meters separated into various areas: one for dogs and cats; another for grazing cows and horses; another for chicken coops, warehouses, kitchens, stables, and finally a veterinary clinic.
In 2011, Andrea published the photographic book called Perros Callejeros, with reports starring men and animals. The following year, when she learned about the suffering of street dogs in Ukraine during the European Championship, she made the decision to move to that country to help them.
At that time, he invested the proceeds from his book sales in the construction of the animal shelter. Thus he began his fight in that country to defend dogs, raise awareness among the population and promote the rescue of animals of other species that needed help.
No adversity made him throw in the towel, he built a new shelter, bigger and with better conditions. He called the place KJ2 in tribute to a bear who l.o.s.t her life at the hands of ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ in Tentino in 2017.
The rescuer has taken the foresight to stock up on food and fuel in the hope that the conflict will end while he is safe with the rescued animals.
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