The cat Max from Bucha survived the occupation, was kidnapped by the Russian military, escaped from them in a Belarusian coat and returned to his owner.
About the Maine Coon cat, who was born in Odessa in 2016 and lived for the last two years in the suburbs of Kyiv, told the publication “Current Time”. Max’s story was presented from the words of his mistress Elena Goncharova.
Life under occupation
On the morning of February 24, 2022, when Russian aircraft were already bombing Ukrainian cities, Max went out for a walk in the yard. The family lived near the Gostomel airport, which was attacked by Russian war criminals during the first hours of a full-scale invasion. The sounds of the explosions were getting louder. Alena hugged her son, sat on the bed, but was in no hurry to go.
Elena’s husband already knew about the war firsthand. Nikolai is from Donetsk. He remembered 2014, when Russian aggression against Ukraine and military operations in Donbas began.
Earlier [до повномасштабного вторгнення] we did not talk about war, because it is impossible to explain this to a person who has not seen what war is. We read the news and understood what was happening, but we could not even imagine what began on February 24th. So in the first hours we were in no hurry to leave Bucha, – says Elena.
A man persuaded Elena to leave Bucha. We decided that he and the child would go to Zhytomyr. They gathered in confusion and could not find Max walking in the yard. Nikolai planned to spend his wife, and then return for things and Max. However, he didn’t make it. Russian troops have already landed in Gostomel.
Bucha was occupied, and Russian soldiers settled in our house, – Elena recalls. – They put an armored personnel carrier in the yard. The neighbors could not find and take Max to their place, because they themselves spent ten days in the basement. There was continuous shelling. Later they were taken out along the corridor. We were told that Max was seen in the village.
Abduction and escape
On March 31, the Russian army hastily left Bucha, leaving behind mass graves and looted houses. Max the cat is gone.
I cannot comment on the actions of people who, in principle, are not subject to the category of a person, says Elena. “I don’t know if they have something in their heads and if there is any logic that accompanies their actions. Bucha was under occupation until the end of March. After the liberation, sappers entered our house. In the children’s room, they found a banner with a grenade. My parents arrived. According to their stories, the whole house was smashed and mutilated.
Alena began to look for Max by posting ads on social networks. A month later, she received a call on Viber from an unfamiliar Belarusian number. The woman introduced herself as Elena and said that she had a cat. At first, Alena did not believe what she heard, but she was sent a photo of a Maine Coon.
As it turned out, the Russian military abducted the cat and took it to Belarus in an armored personnel carrier. In the Gomel region, Max managed to escape, after which he nailed to a local resident. The cat had a collar with a pendant. On the back of the medallion is a QR code with Elena’s contacts. Thanks to this, we managed to find the owner of the cat.
Family reunion
Belarusian volunteers helped Max get a new veterinary passport and a chip. The cat was handed over to Polish volunteers at the border, and they returned it to Alena. At that moment the woman was in the Czech Republic.
According to Elena, the state of the cat after the occupation and abduction was strikingly different from the usual. He lost a lot of weight and ate poorly. Max was doused with something sticky, and he had to cut his hair. But now he has fully recovered.
I am grateful to everyone who helped bring Max back to the family,” says Elena. – We still communicate with Elena. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if I could see him. True, we do not discuss politics during conversations. This is an important question.
The family currently lives in Valencia, Spain. It took Max two weeks to adjust to life abroad. He has a great appetite.
He plays, walks, hurts. Everything is fine with us,” says Elena, dreaming of a speedy return to Ukraine.
She said that returning to Bucha was out of the question:
We plan to go to Odessa or Kyiv, but not to this house. We rented it for ransom, but already canceled the deal.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.