Kharkiv, Ukraine — A Russian drone attack on a farm in northeastern Ukraine sparked a massive fire overnight, killing approximately 13,000 pigs, Ukrainian emergency services said Friday. The strike targeted a farming enterprise in the Novovodolazka community of the Kharkiv region, causing extensive destruction and highlighting the broader toll the war has taken on animals as well as people.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the attack set fire to eight stalls covering more than 13,000 square metres (140,000 square feet). The entire structure was burned down, resulting in the deaths of all the pigs housed inside. One farm worker was injured. Photographs released by emergency crews showed piles of pig carcasses in partially destroyed sheds, with shattered roofs and charred walls.
Animals have frequently been caught in the crossfire during the three-and-a-half-year conflict. In September, seven horses were killed in the Kyiv region when a Russian strike hit an equestrian club, and Ukrainian zoos have sustained repeated damage. Earlier this year, a ram was killed during an attack on Odesa Zoo.
The strike on the Kharkiv farm underscores the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, including agricultural sites, as the war continues.