The Russian army shells Mykolayiv for almost three months. Thousands of animals still live in the city zoo. They have problems with food and water, and pieces of missiles periodically fall there

The occupiers began firing at Mykolayiv on February 25. In April, the Dnipro-Mykolayiv water supply system was cut off by a shell, and the city was left without water — it had to be brought there. Thousands of animals were left without water at the local zoo. Although the zoo is closed to visitors, its staff continues to care about animals: find water and food for them, apply to international funds to get money. To solve water problems, a well was drilled in the park: animals need more than 15 cubic meters of water per day. There were also problems with food: fish, meat, and vegetables were first delivered, including from Kherson, which was already occupied by Russian troops. Now the administration is looking for new supply channels. There were no direct hits by shells into the zoo, but the remnants of missiles periodically fell in the cages. Photographer Yevhen Zavhorodniy visited the zoo especially for Babel, hereʼs his photo report.

Translated from Ukrainian by Anton Semyzhenko.

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