The zoo reopening meant life for us...here you forget war

City's sanctuary for animals.. and humans.

- SIMON MURPHY

AT one of Ukraine's oldest A zoos, there is a predator perhaps more dangerous than a lion, tiger or polar bear.

It's the rocket which struck in the early days of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion.

Two years on, it is on display at Mykolaiv Zoo, serving as a stark reminder of the terror rained upon the city's people... and animals.

The attraction, in southern Ukraine, shut on the second day of Russia's offensive in February 2022 - and days later was hit.

Now part of its history, the rocket protrudes out of the ground by the polar bear enclosure.

This is not the first conflict in the 123-year-old attraction's time - it has survived two world wars.

After initially closing following the outbreak of the Russian invasion, the zoo later reopened.

Now, amid war, it acts as a place for people as its director poignantly puts it to "rest their souls".

Zoo director Volodymyr Topchy gave our sister paper the Mirror a guided tour.

The port city of Mykolaiv was almost encircled by Russian forces at the outset of the invasion.