Conducted an illegal “barter”: the Russians stole unique animals from Askania-Nova

The enemy illegally took animals from “Askania-Novaya”/Collage 24 Channel/Photo by Getty Images and from Facebook by Ruslan Strelets

Russians primarily steal museums, schools, libraries and archives on THAT, and then they kidnap the animals. Thus, Russian occupiers illegally removed Red Book animals from the occupied Askania-Nova biosphere reserve.

Journalist from Kherson Evgenia Virlich told< strong> 24 Channel, what goal the enemy wants to achieve by stealing the reserve. It was as if the occupiers carried out a “barter” – they took Ukrainian animals and brought them from Russian zoos.

“It already happened”

A similar situation already happened when the occupiers retreated from Kherson in 2022 year. Then the Russians kidnapped the famous raccoon, but he was far from the only animal that the enemy took out during the flight. The occupiers, by order of the Russian command, took most of the zoo’s collection to annexed Crimea – from llamas to donkeys and squirrels.

According to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets, Russians from Askania Zoo took out several individuals each of Chapman's zebra, American bison, Przewalski's horses and David's deer.

All these species are included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The status of these animals is “extinct”, “critically endangered” and “near threatened”.

This tactic, in my opinion, is more media-friendly, because they took out rare animals. They will now boast about the presence of these animals in Russia. They conditionally “save” animals from shelling, as the Russians like to say. For example, how they saved “Scythian Gold”, museum exhibits and monuments, emphasized a journalist from Kherson.

The enemy brought to ” Askania-Nova” animals from Russia

According to Ruslan Strelets, the occupiers are spreading information that they have made an “exchange” between the Ukrainian biosphere reserve “Askania-Nova” and Russian – the natural biosphere reserve “Rostovsky” and the association for the conservation and restoration of rare and endangered species of animals “Wildlife of the Steppe”.

Eland and domestic antelopes, two-humped camels and one guanaco were brought to the Askania-Nova Zoo, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources emphasized.

The animals that the occupiers took were not just rare. For many decades, Ukrainian specialists worked with them and developed unique breeds.

Russians kidnap animals from TOT

• 6 November, the CNS received information about the removal of animals to the Krasnodar Safari Park. They noted that this is happening within the framework of the so-called “cooperation agreement” with the occupation administration.
• However, the director of Askania-Novi, Viktor Shapoval, denied these data. According to him, this is not the first such “agreement on creative cooperation and exchange of animals.” In August 2023, the occupation administration also entered into agreements with the Rostov Nature Reserve, the Wildlife of the Steppe Association and the Rostov-on-Don Zoo.
• Remember, 5 more November 2022, the director of the Crimean lion park – “Taigan” Oleg Zubkov stated that the animals allegedly decided to be “evacuated” from Kherson to Crimea according to the order of the so-called “chairman” of the occupation administration of the region Vladimir Saldo.
• The collaborator came to the Kherson region in person. Baldo even had the audacity to publish a video of him taking away these raccoons. The animals resisted and did not want to be touched, but this did not stop him.
• Subsequently, the speaker of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army “South” Sergei Bratchuk appealed to the Russians demanding the return of the raccoon. He offered to exchange it for 10 Russians.