Ukrainian troops using cat meows to ‘lure Russian troops towards booby-traps’
22 January 2025, 15:16
Ukrainian troops are harnessing cats to gain an upper hand on the battlefield, with recordings of felines being used to lure Russian soldiers towards booby-traps.
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The concept sees Zelenskyy's troops using recordings of cat meows to entice Vladimir Putin’s forces towards trigger release explosive, a Russian soldier has claimed.
The latest bid by Ukraine to outmanoeuvre Russian forces, it has now been claimed troops are capitalising on Russians’ reported love of cats.
It's reported the plan has been used by forces in eastern Ukraine, notably the Donetsk region - an area that has seen fierce combat in recent months.
The unusual claim, as reported by The Times, could not be verified but was made by a Russian sapper during an interview with Russian defence ministry-owned channel, TV Zvezda.
“We go in, we hear meowing, let’s say, in the cupboard. When you open it, out of compassion, there is a blast, because it has been rigged with explosives,” Leonid Otdelnov, the commander of a mine-clearing unit, said.
Otdelnov explained that a series of incidents saw the animals sound as Russian soldiers entered buildings.
He did not clarify whether any Russian soldiers had been killed as a result of the trap, with Kyiv yet to comment on the matter.
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Last year it was reported that soldiers had were bringing cats into frontline trenches in a bid to curb a rodent infestation plaguing troops on the battlefield.
Vladimir Maligyn, the head of a pro-Kremlin group, said: “Our cats are used to catch mice and calm soldiers down.”
It's believed some of the animals once belonged to fleeing Ukrainians, with thousands of animals now living as scavengers in abandoned areas of eastern Ukraine.
It comes as President Trump claimed that almost one million Russian soldiers and 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war.
Russian forces are attempting to capture as much land as possible ahead of Trump coming to power - and the possibility of a ceasefire in the region.
