Ukrainian man fleeing war rescued with his kitten on a perilous journey through Romanian mountains

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Ukrainian man who embarked on a perilous journey fleeing his war-torn country into Romania was rescued from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures with an unlikely companion: his months-old kitten named Peach.

More than a dozen rescuers worked in a harsh blizzard to save Vladislav Duda, 28, who was found “soaked and frozen” and severely hypothermic in a 400-meter (437-yard) deep ravine in the northern Maramures region last week, according to the region's mountain rescue service. Duda had fled Ukraine to avoid being drafted into his country's armed forces fighting Russia.

“The cat was warm and was warming him … so he saved his life,” Dan Benga, the director of the Maramures mountain rescue service, told The Associated Press. “The only thing we saw he is caring about is the cat. He doesn’t care about himself.”

When the rescue team located and found the Ukrainian, they unzipped his jacket and discovered Peach snuggled up inside. Benga recalls asking Duda if he was OK, to which he replied: “I’m happy because my cat is alive. I got a chance from God for a new life. The happiest moment is because the cat is here with me,” Benga recalled Duda saying.

The auburn-colored kitten, a tomcat named “Peach” in Ukrainian, was experiencing the effects of malnutrition after they ran out of food four days earlier and melted snow helped to keep him alive.

“It’s like a dream, after all I have been through, I only hoped to be found and to survive," Duda, who worked as a journalist in Ukraine, told the AP. “Peach kept my heart warm and he kept my faith alive."

A helicopter retrieval was initially launched but was aborted due to dangerous weather that hampered visibility. Ground rescuers then embarked on a grueling mission through deep snow and temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) until they reached the pair.

During the complex ascent out of the ravine which took more than five hours, the Ukrainian would not let go of his kitten. He kept Peach clutched to his chest “from the bottom to the top ... until we put him in the ambulance," Benga said. “He said only ‘Please take care of the cat.'”

Close to getting frostbite, Duda is now receiving anti-inflammatory medication and blood circulation treatment, said Izabella Kiskasza, who runs a community center for Ukrainian refugees in Maramures and is assisting the duo. Peach received veterinary treatment in Baia Mare on Monday and is expected to fully recover.

Duda left his home in Ukraine’s war-ravaged Kharkiv region more than a week before getting stranded with his feline companion in the arching Carpathian Mountain range, which straddles northern Romania and southwest Ukraine.

While Peach is the first feline rescued from the mountainous Romanian region, Duda is just one of many Ukrainian men who have risked their lives traversing the harsh conditions of the mountains to avoid being drafted into their country's grinding war with Russia.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than 160 Ukrainian men have been rescued from Romania’s Maramures region and the numbers have doubled each year since, Benga said. Another 16 have been found dead.

Two other Ukrainian draft-aged men were rescued by helicopter the same day as Duda, he said.

“There are a lot of people who are coming, but they have no medical problem … and they don’t call for help,” Benga said. “The people who are calling for help are in the last few hours of their life.”

Ukraine has taken steps to broaden its pool of draft-eligible men, but the efforts have only scratched the surface against a much larger Russian military. In April, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law lowering its draft-eligible age for men from 27 to 25.

Desertion is also starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower at a crucial time in its war with Russia. The U.S. has also urged Ukraine to draft more troops, and allow for the conscription of those as young as 18.

“What I remember is the fear of the unknown and the fear of not making it through the night alive,” Duda recalled on Monday. “My Peach kept me alive. When escaping we were afraid of everybody, not to be sent back to fight in a war that is not ours.”