These photos from the front in Ukraine are different. They not only show the war in its horror, but also cute cats. “If you only report seriously about the war, people will turn away at some point,” Yosyp Husak (24) told the “Tagesspiegel” from Kharkiv.
For this, he created his own account on Instagram called “Ukrainian War Cats” (“Ukrainian War Cats”). The head of an advertising agency shares photos, videos and memes on which the four-legged friends can be seen. For example in destroyed houses or on the shoulders of soldiers.
According to Husak, these snapshots of rescue operations or front-line encounters have been particularly well received. “Cats from the liberated Ukrainian areas and those rescued during the shelling are shared by up to half a million users.”
Almost 14,000 likes for a cat photo
With his account, Husak mainly wants to appeal to people who are not primarily interested in politics. According to their own statement, 80 percent of the account’s followers come from Europe, the US or other countries. It was different in the beginning, when mainly Ukrainians came across his account. Now he wants to tell the foreigners about the war and at the same time give his compatriots psychological support.
More than 17,000 people now follow the account. Rising trend. As the Ukrainian army recaptured Kherson, Husak shared a photo of a white cat next to a person in military uniform. The “Deoccupied Cat” got almost 14,000 likes.
A photo from November 26 was also well received by the community. It shows a soldier petting a cat. Destroyed houses can be seen in the background. The description says “Mission Pochukh Complete”. “Pochukh” can mean to caress or scratch the animal, or it can be the name of the animal.
“Victory of Ukraine, its fighters and cats”
The feed also repeatedly features recordings from Ukrainian private households. Like these. The description is “Tomorrow will be better”.
One video shows a baby animal in a soldier’s bag, another a furry friend giving someone a high five.
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The photos give comfort and hope. And they are a welcome distraction, according to the comments. In addition to praise for the cat photos, there are also messages of support for the soldiers at the front. “Victory of Ukraine, its fighters and cats” write users or “I pray for you”.
The Russian government sponsors Youtubers and invests a lot of money in the Russian-language social network VKontakte, Husak explains. “We have other goals,” he emphasizes. Unlike the Russians, people in Ukraine are more concerned with dealing with difficult things with humor. With his account, he wants to draw attention to “that there are many good artists, musicians and creative people living in Ukraine”. (nad)