FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Wars are fought not only with soldiers, bullets and strategy, but also with propaganda and ideas, and with imagination. Somehow, an unexpected protagonist found his place on the Ukrainian front line: the cat.
Ukraine's social media is filled with cats, offering mental and emotional support to soldiers, attracting donations for the military and, of course, fending off invaders.
In this "war", domestic animals are being used in various ways, even by Russia itself. Russian soldiers are publishing photos and videos increasing their propaganda because according to them, unlike Ukrainians, they know how to take care not only of people but also of animals.
People and cats
Ukrainian soldiers are posting pictures of cats from war-torn villages and towns.
They have been abandoned or lost their guardians and require human protection from constant bombing and minefields.
However, cats and other animals not only receive but also protect in their own way, offering physically and mentally exhausted soldiers comfort, caress and warmth, but also distracting them from their responsibilities of war and the horror that is experience.
Cats as generals
One of the cats, however, has the distinct "honor" of sharing his name with one of Ukraine's most capable generals, Ukrainian Army Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Sirsky. The cat's owner, Roman Sinichin, said he found it by chance. "I named him Syr because he likes cheese (syr means cheese in Ukrainian)," says Sinichin.
"When we left this place, I took him home. Now he lives with my family in Kiev, but continues to help the army. We used his popularity on social media to raise millions of euros for the Mini Shark UAV systems for artillery," said Sinitsin.
There are many stories of soldiers who went to the front alone and came back bringing home several cats.
Enemy cats
In the framework of war propaganda, Russia said that unlike Ukraine, they were already taking care of abandoned cats.
Russian media have aired numerous personal stories of cats on the Russian front in an attempt to show the "human face" of the Russian "military machine" accused of war crimes in Butsa and other parts of Ukraine.
In fact, the Russian version wants Russian soldiers to adopt cats abandoned by their Ukrainian guardians.
"It's hard to imagine life without him. Together with the soldiers, we discuss tactical plans, try food and stand guard," writes local media outlet VN.ru based in Novosibirsk, Siberia, about adopting cats.
Moscow's Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper published a story about Bulet, the cat who protected the commander of a motorized unit by clinging to his head and warning him of mines and enemy fire. /Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Politico"
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