British war veteran, Tim Locks headed the four-day mission to rescue a lion and a wolf from a zoo in war-torn Ukraine. His successful attempt has left netizens surprised who cannot stop singing praises for him on social media platforms. According to Daily Mail, when Locks (45) heard about the plight of the animals from a conservationist at his hotel he started a mission to save the lives of the animals along with his two friends.
He drove from Lviv to Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where the lion and the wolf were kept in a zoo.
Tim took to his Facebook account and documented the details of the rescue operation. Sharing a few pictures from the rescue operation, he wrote, "19 March - So here we are. Having successfully dropped off the aid in the city we went to our primary task. The evacuation of a Lion and a Wolf from a closed Ukrainian zoo to an undisclosed European country. After a full afternoon yesterday of paperwork completed by our local guy we caught up on sleep and started at 08:00 this morning. It took 3 hours to load both animals into the back of a ford transit minibus with the seats removed using a crane and a JCB."
He further said, "We are now heading out of the city while the air raid sirens going off with a police escort. Long way to go but all going well so far. Further updates will come as we push on. Everyone needs evacuation and there are plenty of teams looking after people. Strangely, no one else wanted to do this….so this is what we do."
Later, he also shared another update about the animals claiming that they both are doing fine. "Simba and Akela Update. We’ve just heard back from the zoo in Romania and it’s amazing to hear that both Simba and Akela are settling in well. Both are eating and drinking plenty and enjoying some chill time after the long journey. As for us, we’re well-rested and spending the time reorganising vehicles and kit while we wait for the next task," he added.
Tim's selfless service has been winning hearts on social media. His post was bombarded with appreciation messages from people around the world. One of the users wrote, "Well done Tim stay safe Bud." Another said, "Your a star mate. I'm coming with on the next "adventure" x." "Thank you for doing what you do! Please stay safe!," commented the other.
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For the unversed, Vladimir Putin led Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last month on February 24 after recognising the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent republics." Russia has since continued to maintain that the aim of its operations has been to "demilitarize" and "de-nazify" the country. The conflict, which has now entered its second month, has caused a severe humanitarian crisis with millions of refugees fleeing to neighbouring Western countries, including Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary.
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