When missiles strike, the instinct is to find shelter. But inside an animal sanctuary in Ukraine, there are people whose first concern is also the lives of those who cannot understand why the world around them is suddenly exploding. As sirens sound and the ground trembles, volunteers stay beside the dogs, comforting them through the noise and fear. Some animals press against the people they have learned to trust. Others tremble, searching for reassurance. These are not simply dogs waiting to be fed. They are lives entrusted to the care of people who refuse to abandon them.
For Anastasia Tykha, that responsibility began long before her name became known around the world.
In March 2022, as Russian forces advanced on Irpin, outside Kyiv, a photograph captured Tykha leading a group of frightened dogs, including several with disabilities, toward safety. Her small shelter had become increasingly dangerous, and leaving was no simple undertaking. Some animals could not walk without assistance. Others had serious injuries or limited mobility. Yet she and her husband, Arthur Lee, were determined that they would not be left behind.
The couple evacuated 19 dogs, five cats and several other small animals on foot. The journey to safety took hours, and crossing the damaged bridge meant navigating a landscape of destruction under fire. Ukrainian soldiers helped them get the animals across. The photograph spread internationally, turning Tykha into an unexpected symbol of compassion and courage. The Guardian documented their extraordinary evacuation.
But reaching safety was not the end of her mission. Some animals had been left behind or had escaped during the chaos. Tykha and Lee returned to the dangerous area to search for them, bring food and rescue those still stranded. Their commitment did not end when the cameras turned away.
Today, that commitment has grown into something extraordinary. Tykha established a charitable foundation, Dim Khvostiv (House of Tails), and her team operates four animal shelters in the Kyiv region. In an October 2025 interview with Kunsht, the sanctuary’s residents were reported to include 340 dogs, 60 cats, three turtles, a crow, a hedgehog, three goats and a horse. Many arrive with severe injuries, missing limbs, spinal conditions, tumors or illnesses requiring lifelong care.
The scale of the undertaking is immense. According to Eastern Variant’s November 2025 report, more than 400 animals were in her care across four shelters, requiring approximately 700 kilograms of food each week. The organization provides specialized accommodations, medication, rehabilitation and daily care for animals that might otherwise have nowhere to go.
Among the animals are approximately 40 Alabai dogs, a large breed that can be difficult for other shelters to accommodate. She also welcomes elderly, sick and disabled animals, including those unlikely to be adopted.
In the two years preceding the November 2025 report, her team and its evacuation partners had helped rescue approximately 1,000 animals from dangerous communities.
What began as a desperate effort to save the animals in her care has become a sustained mission to protect those most likely to be overlooked. For Tykha, disability does not diminish an animal’s worth, and age or illness does not make a life less deserving of protection.
The photograph from Irpin captured a woman refusing to leave helpless animals behind. Today, hundreds of animals are living because that conviction never left her.
And when the next siren sounds, she and her team will still be there.