"Together again": Ukrainian border guard freed from captivity is reunited with his dog – video
A Ukrainian border guard named Denys who spent three years in Russian captivity has been reunited with his service dog, Dzhyli, who had remained in occupied territory the whole time.
Source: Radio Liberty; Humanity, a charity whose volunteers help residents of Kherson Oblast leave the occupation
Details: Denys said Dzhyli had served with him at the administrative border with Crimea.
"On 24 February [2022], we came under fire; the full-scale invasion began," Denys recalls. "As we were hiding from the attack, we were surrounded. Then we were taken captive, and they told us to let Dzhyli go."
Dzhyli did not want to be separated from her owner, and she kept on trying to jump into the KAMAZ truck until the very last moment, but was prevented from doing so. Denys says he thought he would never see his dog again.
Dzhyli stayed in Kherson Oblast and was looked after by Denys’s parents. They eventually managed to leave the occupied territory, but could not take the dog with them because they didn’t have the documents required.
"Three years in captivity, and for three years he kept thinking about his dog – whether she was alive, how she was – the dog he’d served with until the moment he was captured," Humanity said. "Dzhyli the military dog remained in the temporarily occupied territory. She fell into Russian hands. And she survived."
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In February this year, Denys was released from captivity, and volunteers arranged for Dzhyli to return to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
"She didn’t react the way I’d expected," Denys says. "But I’d considered that possibility too, because it’s been a long time. I’ve changed – my scent, my appearance. But now I already feel that she’s behaving just like she used to. As if nothing had happened."
Denys is currently undergoing medical treatment and rehabilitation. He says his dream for the future is to help other soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder – together with Dzhyli.
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