A python was named Kupiansk. How the three-meter-long reptile was rescued from a Russian tank during a counteroffensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Bohdan found the python in a Russian tank, rescued the it from the burning tank and found it an owner: during the battle, the soldier pulled the snake out from under the Russian equipment, carried it under his jacket to the storage room, and then brought it to Kharkiv, where he handed it over to serpentologists. The name of the three-meter long python, which was rescued during the counteroffensive, is Kupiansk: four months ago, the reptile was pulled out from under a burning tank. “It was in September, we stormed Kupiansk, and we had a position with a bomb shelter. A tank came at us, two tanks came every day. They shelled our positions, fired 9-10 shells and hid in the forest. We got tired of this tactics after three days, and we decided to beat them up,” — Bohdan says. The soldiers took the “Javelin” and “NLAW” and went into the forest to look for the tanks of the invaders. “We found two tanks, knocked them over, they started burning. I don’t know how I discerned the python — I have bad eyesight. It was covered in snow, crawled out from under the tank. I run up, caught it like a rope, and dragged it behind me. I ran run back a little, twisted it into a ball, tucked it under my jacket and ran further, because the tank began to explode. I raced to a broken house, found a bag and put it in the bag,” — the soldier recalls. The python was given a name in honor of the liberated city: “Boys and I named it Kupiansk.” Later, the military found out where the python could have come from in the Russian tank. “There was an elite bathhouse, and there was a terrarium in it. When we hit the tank, we went on a reconnaissance, we found this bathhouse already broken, and there were many of those snakes, their pieces were lying around. Maybe the reptile crawled to those tanks to warm itself, but I do not rule out that they stole it for entertainment or food. We often found dog skins and dog bones at their positions, they eat everything – that’s how russians are,” — Bohdan says. “This is a trophy taken from the russians.” Bohdan brought the python to Kharkiv: “It took the ownership of the apartment! When I released the python in the flat, I started to fear him.” The man was looking for what to feed the reptile with, when he realized that he could not cope with the python, and asked for help. “I understood that the animal was not to blame, and it had to be fed, and I was often on combat for months, I was afraid to leave him with my girlfriend, because it is a big snake”. “I called the volunteers and said: “I have a three-meter python here, I need to put it somewhere. They asked where I got it from. I answered that it was a trophy taken from the Russians,” — Bohdan recalls. Currently, the python is cared for by Dmytro Shabanov, a professor at Kharkiv Karazin University. The reptile is fattened: it eats rats once every few weeks. “The maximum size can be more than 6 meters. This is a fairly young individual, and its behavior shows that it has dealt with people. In fact, the snake’s character is not ordinary,” — the scientist says. According to Shabanov, the reptile is not aggressive.
Source: Ukrainian Public TV
