Famous Ukrainian Cat Stepan Escapes War-ravaged Kharkiv To Find Safety In France

An Instagram post is going viral today of Stepan — popular Ukrainian cat — looking scared in his travel bag after escaping war-ravaged Kharkiv to France.

Three photos were posted to the cat's own Instagram feed on Wednesday. In them, Stepan can be seen on a train travelling to Lviv.

Detailing how they made it to safety, the plucky tabby’s owner, Anna, gave a welcome update about the gruelling journey from Ukraine.

According to the caption, Anna said: “On February 24, early in the morning, we were sleeping at home. At 5 am, some explosion was heard, and I didn't even understand what it was”.

“After a while, after half an hour later, there were more explosions, the windows trembled. I jumped up and understood that something terrible was happening!” she wrote.

“The attack and shelling of Kharkiv (especially on the North Saltovka where we live). We realized that the war had come to our house.”

Anna then detailed how they spent a week without electricity before they managed to leave the city — with the help of volunteers who took them to a train station.

“We got on the train Kharkiv — Lviv (in 20 hours, we got to Lviv). Then we followed to the border with Poland,” she wrote in the post.

“At the border, we stood in line in a pedestrian crossing. There were a lot of people (4-5 thousand). After 9 hours, we crossed the border. When we reached Poland, we were offered help from the World Influencers and Bloggers Association from Monaco,” she said.

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A post shared by Степан (@loveyoustepan)

The group helped Anna and Stepan get to France, where they are waiting until they can safely return home.

“We’re all right now. We worry very much about our relatives in Ukraine and will do the very best we can to help our country,” she added.

Stepan, 13, has more than one million followers on Instagram, thanks to his amusing photos and grumpy poses.

The cat skyrocketed to fame in 2019 when a TikTok set to Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” featuring him with a glass of wine received over 27 million views.

Late last year, he appeared in a Valentino ad with a $2,800 purse from the Italian designer.

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