塹壕のウクライナ兵、犬や猫との触れ合いが慰めに

【アウディーウカＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシアの大軍が国境付近に集結し、戦争の危機が迫る中、ウクライナ東部の塹壕（ざんごう）で、兵士は野良猫や野良犬との思いがけない触れ合いに慰めを見いだしている。（写真はウクライナ南東部アウディーウカ近郊の最前線にある塹壕で、犬と触れ合うウクライナ兵）
　「敵が攻撃を仕掛けてくると、ほえたり、うなったりする」。アウディーウカ近郊の凍えるような寒さのぬかるんだ塹壕で、ウクライナ兵のミキータさん（２１）は所属部隊が拾った雌犬をなでながら、今や重要な戦力だとＡＦＰに語った。「一緒にいると安心し、気持ちも落ち着く。犬は人間の最良の友だといわれるのも納得だ」
　ウクライナ東部では２０１４年、政府軍と親ロシア分離独立派との戦闘が激化し、２００万人を超える住民が家を追われた。その際、多くのペットが置き去りにされた。
　「動物たちのせいじゃない。悪いのは戦争だ」と、同じく兵士のウォロディミルさん（４９）は猫たちに自分のスープを分けながら言った。「置いて行かれて、自力で生きなければならなかった。私たちが餌をやらなければ」
　ウォロディミルさんが守備につく塹壕では、１５匹ほどの猫と数匹の犬が兵士と寝食を共にしていた。
　爆撃で破壊された民家の地下室で寝泊まりしている兵士のドミトロさん（２９）は、「チェルヌハ」と名付けた黒猫を手放しで称賛した。「冬になると塹壕の中を野ネズミが走り回っていたが、全部つかまえてくれた」
　ドミトロさんは１４年に親ロシア派と戦った時にも、当時の最前線スラビャンスク付近で生後およそ１か月の子犬と友達になったという。子犬はあっという間に部隊の「小さなお守り」となった。砲撃が始まる数分前に、子犬がぱっと物陰に隠れたのを覚えていると笑顔で語った。
　「私たちも大急ぎで子犬のまねをした。防弾チョッキとヘルメットをつかんで、走ったんだ」
　ロシア軍が侵攻してくるかもしれないという緊迫した状況下で、動物のおかげでリラックスでき、代わり映えのしない日々の任務でもつかの間の休息を得られると兵士たちは話す。
　「拠点に戻ってきてベッドに横になると、チェルヌハがやってくる。おなかの上に横たわり、なでてほしそうにこちらを見る」とドミトロさん。「まさに鎮静剤だ」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/01/14-11:20）

With Russian troops massing and the spectre of war looming over the trenches of eastern Ukraine, soldiers in the dugouts have found solace in the unlikely companionship of stray cats and dogs.
In a muddy and freezing trench near the town of Avdiivka, 21-year-old Ukrainian soldier Mykyta was petting a dog adopted by the troops as he explained how she had become a valued asset on the frontline.
She immediately barks or growls if the enemy is planning an attack. It's safer and calmer with her -- no wonder they say that a dog is man's best friend, he told AFP, declining to give his last name over security concerns.
More than two million Ukrainians were displaced from their homes and many pets were abandoned after fighting broke out in 2014 between pro-Moscow separatists and Kyiv's army.
The conflict, which has claimed 13,000 lives, has simmered in recent years with only sporadic reports of escalations and military deaths in eastern Ukraine.
But that has changed recently with Kyiv's Western allies accusing Russia of building up tens of thousands of troops around Ukraine's borders in preparation for a possible invasion.
Those tensions are at the centre of intensive negotiations this week between the United States, NATO and Russia in Geneva and Brussels, with both sides accusing the other of ratcheting up tensions.
The animals aren't to blame -- the war is, says 49-year-old soldier Volodymyr, who also declined to give his last name citing security concerns.
An AFP journalist said around fifteen cats and several dogs had taken up residence together with the soldiers in Volodymyr's section of the trenches.
They were abandoned. They had to fend for themselves. We have to feed them, Volodymyr said, pouring leftover soup for the cats.
- 'Talisman' puppy -
After spending months on the frontline with their adopted strays, some soldiers have ended up taking their new comrades home, away from the fighting.
In the basement of a bombed-damaged house where he sleeps while at the front, 29-year-old soldier Dmytro, meanwhile, is full of praise for his black hunting cat, Chernukha.
When winter came, field mice were running around the dugouts, Dmytro said.
She caught them all, within two months, the young soldier with a shaved head told AFP proudly.
But it wasn't the first time a pet had intervened during the war, he said.
Dmytro told AFP that in 2014 he befriended a one-month-old puppy near the then-flashpoint town of Slavyansk. He said the dog soon became a mini-talisman among his fellow soldiers.
Minutes before one bout of shelling began, he remembered, the dog hid. We very quickly took the same measure as the dog, Dmytro says with a smile on his face.
We grabbed bulletproof vests, helmets and ran.
With tensions higher now over fears Russia could invade, soldiers say the animals have been a particular boon, helping them relax and bringing respite to their daily routine.
You come back to the post, lie down on the bed, and here comes Chernukha, Dmytro says.
The cat lies on your stomach and looks at you as if she wants to be petted.
It's a sedative, he said.
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