Russian invasion has said he misses his pet black panther and jaguar he was forced to leave behind. Girikumar Patil lived in Severodonetsk, a small town in south-eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, for the past six years after arriving in the country to study medicine and work in a government hospital.
After the Russian invasion in late February the 40-year-old acquired a 20-month-old male jaguar and a six-month-old female panther cub from Kyiv Zoo, and referred to them as his "babies".READ MORE: Beauty queen who watches pals die on Ukrainian front line 'has bullet for Putin' He said he has had sleepless nights since leaving the big cats a month ago, after saying he wouldn't leave without them. “I miss them, I am miserable without them,” he said.Sabrina, a panther, and Yasha, a jaguar and leopard cross lived with him at his five-acre home in the Donbas region.In late February to early March Patil was holed up in his home during a Russian offensive in his hometown.
The orthopaedic doctor only left his home to get food for he and his animals. “I called the [Indian] embassy but didn’t get a proper response.
My place is surrounded by the Russians but I’m trying my best. I treat them [pets] as my kids,” Mr Patil told ANI news agency at the time. To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.“My big cats have been spending nights in the basement with me,” he told BBC in March. “There has been a lot of bombing happening around us.
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