As a part of a prisoner alternate on 14 August, 26-year-old serviceman Stanislav Panchenko has come again from captivity alongside along with his four-legged good friend – a cat named Myshko.
Supply: Novyny Donbasu; Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne
Particulars: Myshko had lived for greater than 4 and a half years in penal colony No. 32 in occupied Makiivka in Donetsk Oblast alongside Ukrainian POWs.
One other man who had cared for Myshko has been behind bars for over seven years and remains to be awaiting launch.
"I couldn’t go away Myshko behind — within the colony, he would have confronted the destiny of a stray. By then, he was, you would say, our household cat," Stanislav shared.
Stanislav Panchenko was born in Poltava Oblast. He has served within the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2017 and was captured in Donetsk Oblast in January 2019.
His mom, Valentyna Panchenko, mentioned that Stanislav was initially held in a Donetsk pre-trial detention centre and was later transferred to penal colony No. 32 in Makiivka after a "sentence" had been handed down.
He was sentenced to 17 years in jail on fabricated fees of "seizing energy".
Stanislav and Myshko in hospital Picture: Novyny Donbasu
Stanislav defined that the animal had been delivered to the Makiivka barracks by their "quartermaster" – a prisoner accountable for upkeep work within the colony. The kitten was very small, however the prisoners nursed it again to well being.
At first, the boys thought it was a feminine cat and named her Myshka, however later found it was a male so he was renamed Myshko.
The troopers made a particular bag for the cat, marked "Cat Dwelling" and "Myshko needs to go to Poltava".
Stanislav spent nearly seven years behind bars, and when he was launched, he took the cat with him.
Myshko’s bag Picture: Novyny Donbasu
"We determined that whoever was freed first would take the cat with them. So in winter, we ordered a particular bag with bolstered partitions and a base so Myshko could possibly be transported comfortably from prisoners working within the stitching workshop. The guards confiscated it 3 times, however fortuitously we had been at all times capable of get it again," the serviceman mentioned.
Stanislav mentioned Myshko could be very intelligent and affectionate. Through the journey from occupied Donetsk, he sat quietly within the bag and didn’t make a sound.
"After we had been lastly exchanged, we had been being transported in ambulances. I warned the workers simply in case that I had a cat within the bag. They had been very shocked: ‘A cat? Alive?!’ I mentioned: ‘Sure, alive. He’s additionally from penal colony No. 32.’
I opened the bag to indicate them. After we had been settled in hospital, I warned the workers once more," he recounted.
Myshko now lives with Stanislav and is gaining weight.
"I hope that my fellow unlucky good friend, with whom I raised Myshko, may even quickly be a part of an alternate," the defender added.
Background:
- On 14 August 2025, 84 Ukrainians had been launched from captivity, together with 51 civilians.
- Amongst these freed had been three civilian girls who had been held for over six years, in addition to three docs captured in Donetsk seven years in the past.
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