Amid the growing tension between Ukraine and Russia, evacuated Indian nationals from the war-torn country have refused to leave their pets behind.
An Indian national Gautam who was rescued from Ukraine's capital Kyiv arrived in India along with his cat. He came by the third Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft early on Thursday.
The pet cat was part of Gautam's journey from Ukraine to India. The pet has been with him for four months. The cat stayed with him in the bunker and crossed Poland along with him.
Talking to ANI, Gaurav said, "This cat has been with me for the past four months. It stayed with me in the bunker, and then we crossed into Poland together.
Another evacuee Zahid brought his friend's dog along with him from Ukraine.
"I have brought my friend's dog with me from Ukraine. Many people who had dogs left them behind in Ukraine, but I brought this dog along with me," he told ANI.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Government of India issued a memorandum facilitating "a one-time relaxation measure" for bringing back pet dogs and cats along with stranded Indians who are being evacuated from war-hit Ukraine.
The step by the Indian government came after an appeal from the 'People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)'.
A viral video was posted on social media by Rishabh Kaushik, a final-year undergraduate student of software engineering at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics in Ukraine, in which he could be seen saying that he is not going to leave behind his dog 'Malibu' in Ukraine. He added that he tried contacting the Indian authorities so that he could take his dog with him but they repeatedly asked for documents.
PETA wrote to Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy to press for allowing the Indians to take their pets along with in the flights.
Third Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft carrying 208 Indian citizens from Ukraine landed at Hindon airbase near Delhi from Rzeszow in Poland on Thursday.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt received the Indian citizens on their arrival and interacted with them.
( With inputs from ANI )
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