Ukrainian farmer says 'over 100 animals burned alive' after Russian shelling

OVER a hundred animals were burnt alive in a fire sparked by a Russian shelling of an area outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.

Mala Rohan, a small farming village, 22 kilometers (13 miles) east of Kharkiv was bombed on March 26, the day Lubov Zlobina a local farm owner was going to celebrate her birthday.

Instead, she and her husband spent the day rescuing farm animals from a fire that engulfed their barns after they were hit by Russian shells.

"We could not get into the barn so my husband knocked down the wall ... the animals were bellowing, calves, piglets, I told him to knock down the wall and we managed to get half of them out. The other half burnt, half of the barn, the calves and piglets inside," Zlobina said.

Zlobina said 42 calves, 48 sheep and 30 pigs were burnt alive in the fire. She and her husband managed to rescue 415 animals.

The shelling of the farm took place as Ukrainian forces fought to push back Russian troops from the area. Mala Rohan was recaptured by Ukraine on March 28.

Zlobina recalled the daily searches and looting of her farm during the 20 days the village was occupied by the Russians.

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