22/01/2026
PEOPLE WHO REMAIN — VALENTINA remains near zero in the Pokrovsk area. In Dobropillia — a city that is largely destroyed and under daily shelling and bombing. There are no services which remain in the city.
At first glance, Dobropillia looks abandoned.
Burned-out buildings. Empty streets. Silence broken by explosions.
It isn’t empty. Valentina is still here, and many others like her.
She feeds animals on her street. And beyond it.
She currently takes care of 35 dogs and around 30 cats.
Some were abandoned when people evacuated.
Some were left behind when owners didn’t survive.
Some were born here, into ruins.
She didn’t plan this. She didn’t set out to “rescue” anything.
The animals were here. So she stayed.
This week, we went to see her. To check she was still alive.
And to deliver pet food so she could keep feeding the animals that depend on her.
Valentina doesn’t talk about bravery. She talks about who needs food today. And how much she has left.
This is Dobropillia.
Destroyed. Bombed. Still inhabited.
And this is what remains in Donbas —
people who stay because leaving would mean abandoning lives that cannot leave on their own.
This is the kind of frontline-adjacent civilian and animal support we quietly continue.
Thank you to Nowzad for the pet food aid for those who remain on the frontline. Your unwavering support means a lot.
