Russian troops kill Kherson wildlife species and post it on social media – UAnimals

Ukrainian animal rights activists have gathered new evidence of the killing of Kherson various species by Russian troops in the captured Kherson region.

The invaders are shooting wild animals and boasting about it in photos, UAnimals reports.

A member of the community sent photos of Russian soldiers showing off the animals they had killed.

"These photos are yet another confirmation that Russians are killing all living things in Ukraine and are committing a real ecocide."

The animal rights activists also found out that the photos depicted a shot hare and a common pheasant.

Vitalii Smagol, a researcher at the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, confirmed that one of the pictures showed a male red deer shot dead.

The photos were taken in the Kherson region, but it was not possible to determine the exact location.

Before the full-scale invasion, red deer herds lived in the Askania Nova reserve and the Azov-Sivash National Park, now occupied.

Back in July this year, the National Resistance Center reported that the occupiers were stealing animals from the Askania-Nova Nature Reserve in Kherson region.

During the invasion, about 20% of protected areas in Ukraine have been affected by the fighting. It is impossible to estimate how many animals have died there, animal rights activists say.

Ukraine is investigating 271 war crimes against the environment committed by the Russia and recording 15 cases of ecocide.

The war has posed enormous challenges for environmental institutions: what should be bequeathed to generations and passed on as a natural heritage is being mercilessly destroyed.

However, there is hope. Read our article to find out who is responsible for it.