Pets left behind at Ukraine animal shelter - in pictures

Orest Zalypskyy estimates his shelter in Lviv has taken in 1,500 animals since the war began

Dogs at a home for rescued animals in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. All photos by AFP

At the "Home for Rescued Animals" in Lviv exotic creatures are now sheltered alongside everyday pets.

The animals have been left behind in the rush of refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A family visit the shelter to walk the dogs.

Women hug a dog at the shelter.

Shelter manager Orest Zalypskyy estimates his shelter has taken in 1,500 animals since the war began, from migrants and shelters in 'hot spots' to the east.

About 20 were collected from Lviv's train station - the locus of chaos in the first days of the war, where carriages and platforms heaved with desperate passengers.

Foxes in an aviary at the shelter.

Shelter manager Orest Zalypskyy, left, removes an identification tag before giving up a dog to the new family.

A man takes pictures of dogs on a visit to the shelter.

Foxes at the shelter.

A girl strokes a cat at a shelter.

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