A turtle was rescued from the rubble of a destroyed building in Odessa
During the nighttime shelling of Odesa on April 24, Russian troops destroyed a residential building. As a result of the rescue operation, rescuers managed to locate and save the pet of one of the residents—a turtle named Philip.
This was reported by the Department of Municipal Security of the Odesa City Council.
According to city services, the turtle was found under the rubble of a building on Mechnikov Street after the strike. The animal remained under the debris of the destroyed building for several days until rescuers discovered it while clearing the rubble.
The animal’s owner, Odessa resident Tamara, had been hoping for a miracle all this time.
“I believed he was alive, that they would find him, and I sincerely thank our rescuers. They reassured me the whole time, giving me hope that Philip had a good chance of surviving. Fortunately, that’s exactly what happened,” the woman said.
Rescuers note that finding the small turtle amid the rubble, dust, and glass was extremely difficult.
“Finding a tiny, silent, and nearly invisible living creature—barely larger than a palm—amidst the dust, rocks, and shards of glass was very difficult. But our rescuers succeeded!” the statement reads.
On April 28, it was reported that Philip had returned to his owner alive and unharmed.
This is not the first time that State Emergency Service rescuers have found animals under the rubble following Russian shelling. Earlier in Kryvyi Rih, during cleanup efforts after a rocket strike on a high-rise building, they rescued a cat named Shamil, which also became a symbolic story of rescue amid destruction and loss.
As a reminder, Russia attacked Odesa overnight: there are casualties and destruction.
Also, during the recent Russian attack on Kyiv, one of the missiles exploded near a construction site belonging to the SAGA Development company in the Pochaina district. Six construction workers were injured as a result of the incident.
In Kyiv, 60 cars were burned in a massive Russian attack, and two security guards were killed.
