War with Russia threw Kyiv Zoo back into '18th century,' says zookeeper

By Davit Kachkachishvili and Burc Eruygur

KYIV, Ukraine/ISTANBUL (AA) - The war in Ukraine has taken the Kyiv Zoo "back to the 18th century," its general manager said on Wednesday amid serious power disruptions caused by Russian strikes on the country's energy infrastructure.

"Similar systems were used in the 18th century. This war brought us to the 18th century," Kyrylo Trantin said in an interview with Anadolu Agency, referring to the use of wood stoves to heat critical parts of the zoo.

Trantin said that while they tried to illuminate and heat the zoo with the help of generators during power outages, they had to light the wood stoves when there was no electricity for a long period of time.

"Some animals cannot live without heating. That's why we installed wood stoves in the most critical points of the zoo to create a warm environment," Trantin explained. "This is very important for animals that need a warm environment the most."

Trantin noted that the zoo was home to nearly 4,000 animals of 200 species, while more were brought in from other cities near the front line to save them from the conflict.

The official said that he and the rest of the zoo staff lived in the facility for weeks in the war's early days in an effort to protect the animals.

"We were staying here day and night with our staff of 50. There was food in stock for the animals. Two separate groups were constantly on duty. One team was bringing food for people from the markets, the other was taking care of the animals. This is how we survived. Now, we're ready for winter." he said.

Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been the target of Russian attacks since the start of Moscow's "special military operation" in late February, which increased dramatically after an explosion on Oct. 8 damaged Russia's key Kerch Bridge connecting the country with the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.​​​​​​​