Oleg Zubkov steals raccoons and other animals from Kherson Zoo - The Washington Post

A backstage Crimean zoo, Taigan Lion Park, owned by Oleg Zubkov, filmed him inexpertly grabbing raccoons by their tails and dumping them into cages successful a YouTube video headlined “We are successful Kherson. Oleg Zubkov catches raccoons with BARE HANDS!!!”

The video, which was made unavailable Sunday, showed him with 2 assistants, manhandling the llama into a dilapidated, windowless van arsenic a canine yapped nearby. Another video uploaded Sunday showed 2 wolves that helium said were from Kherson Zoo being unloaded astatine the Crimean zoo arsenic 2 Russian tv channels filmed the event. He called it “temporary evacuation.”

“It volition beryllium overmuch amended for the wolves here: ample territory, Crimean sun, and besides, aft the quarantine, they volition get a male,” Zubkov said. “It’s been their imagination to unrecorded here,” helium claimed successful comments to Russian media connected YouTube.

He said the animals, including immoderate wolf cubs, would beryllium sent backmost aft Russia reoccupies Kherson.

“For america this is simply a humanitarian mission. These animals bash not person immoderate zoological worth for us. We person our ain wolves. We person 75 raccoons. We could marque canned raccoon meat,” helium said earlier guffawing, successful what appeared to beryllium an awkward joke. “Sorry. But earnestly we person a batch of raccoons, but we took these animals to support them live and truthful that residents of Kherson would beryllium blessed to spot them live again. The animals are successful bully hands.”

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry posted 1 of the videos and warned of reprisal for the raccoon theft.

Ukrainian troops retook the strategical confederate metropolis past week aft a Russian retreat. Kherson was 1 of the archetypal large cities to autumn to the Kremlin’s full-scale penetration that began successful February. The determination was greeted with celebration successful the streets aft months of Russian occupation.

The removal of the animals was wide reported successful Russian media, portrayed arsenic a tiny agleam spot successful an different gloomy picture. It came to airy erstwhile nationalist Russian writer and blogger Anna Dolgareva boasted connected Telegram that the “only bully news” astir Moscow’s surrender of Kherson was that her person managed to “steal a raccoon” from Kherson Zoo.

“We volition not instrumentality the raccoon,” Dolgareva said. “We volition get backmost Kherson.”

She said a raccoon Telegram channel, Raccoon from Kherson, had been acceptable up.

Ukrainian carnal activistic Oleksander Todorchuk confirmed the study connected Facebook.

Last month, Russia’s designated medication person successful Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, said that Russia had taken the bones of Grigory Potemkin from his tomb successful Kherson. Potemkin, an 18th period Russian subject figure, annexed Crimea, founded the city, governed Russia’s imperial lands successful the portion and created the Black Sea Fleet. He was besides renowned arsenic the person and adjacent protege of Empress Catherine II, who was known arsenic Catherine the Great.

Ukrainian officials person accused Russia of removing disabled children from Kherson to Crimea and Russia, arsenic good arsenic taking distant prisoners of war. Local autarkic media channels aired video of buses, occurrence engines, operation instrumentality and adjacent a miniature bid with its carriages for children — each being driven retired of Kherson successful the days earlier Moscow surrendered the city.

Kherson’s Kremlin-appointed medication besides removed hundreds of invaluable artworks and icons from the Kherson Art Museum, emptying the assemblage from Oct 31. to Nov. 3, and taking the works, wrapped successful rags and packed successful unmarked vans, to Crimea earlier the Russian surrender of Kherson, according to depository unit successful a Facebook post connected Nov. 4.

“They telephone it ‘evacuation.’ In our connection it’s ‘looting,’ ” the station said. The works aboriginal showed up successful the Central Museum of Tavrida successful the Crimean metropolis of Simferopol. Kherson constabulary announced a transgression probe into the theft of the works, though they are focused connected stabilizing the precocious retaken city.

Police besides reported that Russian forces had stolen 4 authoritative cars of a aesculapian center, infirmary machine equipment, medicines, civilians’ cars, boats and hunting weapons.

Ukrainian officials person accused Russia of looting oregon damaging hundreds of Ukrainian taste institutions during the war.

Russian forces besides mined buildings and blew up a tv tower, communications towers and bridges successful cardinal Kherson, according to Ukrainian officials. Local media reported witnesses who said they saw Russians removing gathering materials, furnishings and household appliances from Kherson.