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Ukrainian Soldiers Rescue Owl Trapped in Russian Fiber Optic Net During Combat Mission
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Fighters of Ukraine’s 429th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade “Achilles” rescued an owl that had become trapped in an enemy anti-drone net and fiber-optic lines while carrying out a combat mission, the brigade reported on January 17
The bird was unable to free itself and faced certain death. Ukrainian servicemembers stopped, carefully disentangled the owl, and released it back into the wild.
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The brigade noted that combat operations cause severe damage to the environment, destroying forests, fields, animals, and birds, while Russia brings devastation not only to cities but to nature as well.
“Yet even in the hardest moments, Ukrainians remain true to themselves—with open hearts and respect for life. Because we are fighting for a world where there is room for kindness, dignity, and freedom,” the brigade concluded.
A similar act was reported in Novemeber 2025 by Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service. Oleh, a border guard with the Mukachevo Detachment known by the call sign “Ratatouille,” rescued an injured owl while on rotation in the Zakarpattia region near the Ukrainian-Romanian border.
According to the service, Oleh spotted the disoriented bird lying motionless by the roadside after a patrol. What initially looked like a hunting pause turned out to be a head injury, with visible bleeding and signs of shock.
After consulting wildlife volunteers from UAnimals, the serviceman treated the wound with prescribed medication, preventing a potentially fatal infection and giving the owl a chance to recover.
In some frontline areas, the scale of drone warfare has reshaped the physical environment itself. In Lyman, for example, streets, trees, rooftops, and ruins are now draped in what resembles a spiderweb of fiber-optic cables—left behind by Ukrainian and Russian FPV drones that rely on wired connections to evade electronic warfare.
Previously, in a separate incident, an owl was seen knocking a Russian quadcopter out of the sky in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Footage circulated by a Ukrainian Telegram channel shows the bird suddenly altering course, closing in on the drone in midair, and striking it with its wings. The quadcopter then plunges to the ground, while the owl flies off without apparent injury.
-6c3b6804d5d1bc026263b83d0f587443.png "Ukraine Lifts the Veil on Russia’s Geran-5 Drone—A Hybrid of Foreign Technology")
