A Donbass mother’s calling

Ekaterina is a military dog handler and veterinarian from the Donetsk People's Republic. Before the conflict, she worked with horses and trained service dogs. When her city came under shelling, she joined a volunteer battalion, where she taught her dogs to search for both people and explosives. Alongside her canine partners, Ekaterina has worked in various hotspots, including Donetsk, Mariupol, Yasinovataya, and Ugledar.

In one destroyed house in the village of Spartak, her dog located someone trapped beneath the rubble. Ekaterina immediately went to find the local emergency services. When help arrived, they managed to pull a surviving baby from the debris. Tragically, the infant's parents had died. For a long time, Ekaterina blamed herself, wondering if there was more she could have done to save them. Later, she found the boy in an orphanage and made the decision to adopt him.

Her story is one of remarkable resilience – the journey of a person who finds the strength not just to carry on, but to help others, offer them care, and build a new life from the ashes of tragedy.

Watch “A Donbass mother's calling” on RTD website and on RT’s live feed. The time of the broadcast is available on RT’s schedule page.