A kitten saved the life of a draft dodger who crossed the border into Romania and got lost in the snowy mountains

A draft dodger and his kitten illegally crossed the border into Romania. The Ukrainian man nearly froze to death in the mountains but was rescued by Romanian rescuers.

This was reported by the Associated Press (AP).

According to their information, rescuers in Maramureș County, northern Romania, saved 28-year-old Ukrainian Vladyslav Duda, who was fleeing mobilization in Ukraine with a kitten named Persik.

Duda was found late last week in a 400-meter-deep gorge in northern Maramureș. He showed signs of severe hypothermia and was “wet and frozen.”

Initially, rescuers attempted to evacuate the Ukrainian using a helicopter, but due to difficult weather conditions, those plans had to be abandoned. Romanian rescuers instead accompanied him through deep snow in temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.

When the rescuers unzipped Vladyslav’s jacket, they found the kitten underneath.

“The kitten was warm and kept him warm… so it saved his life,” said Dan Benga, head of the Maramureș Mountain Rescue Service, as quoted by AP.

Duda shared that he had worked as a journalist in Ukraine and left his home in the Kharkiv region over a week ago to avoid mobilization.

“What I remember is the fear of the unknown and the fear of not surviving that night alive. My Persik saved me. When we were fleeing, we were afraid of everyone, afraid of being sent to the war,” Duda said.

Duda is now being treated for the effects of hypothermia.

It is reported that since the beginning of the war in February 2022, more than 160 Ukrainian men have been rescued in Maramureș, while 16 others have been found dead.