In the middle of the bloody battle for control of Bakhmut, a strategic town in eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers found comfort and joy in caring for two puppies they rescued from a frontline village.
Black and Red, two newborns barely able to stand on their feet were found recently by Valeriia and Oleksii, soldiers of the Territorial Defence Unit operating in the area since September, shortly after it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
"We heard (them) squealing in the house after we began to clean up. It turned out their mother left them. When we found them, we didn't think too much and called them Red and Black," Oleksii said.
At first, the pups had to be fed by syringe, but now they enjoy military rations of stewed meat and potatoes.
"We started feeding them in the first days... Black, he's more shy, while Red is all over the place. Very self-assured. He will grow up to be a great dog." Oleksii said
Valeriia said they rescue animals from every battlefield and put them in "good hands", with many going to the families of other soldiers.
The battle for Bakhmut is now entering its seventh month, with the remains of the city's heavily shelled outskirts drawing comparisons to the battlefields of World War One.
Bukhmut sits between the Russia-claimed towns of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk and has been the focus of intense fighting as Russian troops try to capture more of the Donbas region.
The United Kingdom's defence ministry has said it believes Russian troops are trying to encircle the city after they made tactical advances to the north and south.
The ministry also said that the town would have limited operational value and that "there is a realistic possibility that Bakhmut's capture has become primarily a symbolic, political objective for Russia".
