moscow Is Shifting Responsibility for the Consequences of War onto People and Animals

The war unleashed by russia against Ukraine has led to the complete degradation of life in the temporarily occupied territories. In particular, in Donetsk region, not only people are suffering from the consequences of the occupation, but so do thousands of stray dogs that have ended up on the streets due to hostilities, destruction of cities, and mass outflows of population. For example, residents of the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol reportedly complain about approximately 10,000 stray animals, while doctors record numerous cases of bites every day.

Instead of addressing the root reasons for the problem – war, destroyed infrastructure, and non-existence  of basic social services – the occupying authorities are proposing the simplest and cruelest solution. nina ostanina, chair of the rf state duma’s committee on family protection  nina ostanina has announced the need to introduce a “state of emergency” in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk regiont, which would effectively allow the mass shooting of stray dogs.

ostanina has said that there are “no resources” in the Donbas for a humane approach to animals, as medical issues are supposedly more important. At this, she acknowledged that most animals ended up on the streets “not by choice”,  effectively confirming that it was the war and the russian occupation that caused this problem. At the same time, the deputy sharply criticized the decision of the occupying administration of the “dpr” to ban the killing of stray animals, except in cases of incurable diseases, calling it “too soft”. Thus, even the local occupying authorities controlled by russia turned out to be less harsh than officials in moscow.

The state duma of the rf has already prepared an appeal to the occupying authorities of the “dpr” demanding that they tighten legislation, and the participants of the working group supported the idea of introducing a regime that formally provides for the capture of animals, but in practice allows their mass destruction.

Against the background of a region completely destroyed by war, where people with disabilities are left without care, medical assistance is almost unavailable, and the social system is virtually non-functional, russian officials’ talk of  “humanity” sounds particularly cynical. Stray animals in the Donbas are another direct consequence of russia’s aggression, for which moscow is trying to shift responsibility onto the victims themselves. russian experts seriously suggest that the kremlin authorities’ next step in the temporarily occupied territories could be the euthanasia of seriously ill or disabled people.

Read also: Mariupol As a Resource: russia Is Integrating the Occupied Port into Its Own Economy