Kyiv veterinarian Serhii Huzenkov killed in Russian attack on 30 October

Veterinarian Serhii Huzenkov, who spent many years treating and saving animals in Kyiv, was killed in the Russian attack on the city on 30 October. His death was reported in a Facebook post by the Department of Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation.

Huzenkov worked at the Kyiv City Veterinary Medicine Hospital in the capital's Podilskyi district. In its tribute, the department recalled his years of service at the clinic on Yaroslavska Street, where his daily work combined veterinary knowledge with compassion for the animals in his care.

The department described him as a valued member of a larger team whose work centred on protecting animals' lives and health. Its remembrance highlighted his commitment to helping creatures unable to express their need for assistance in words, a cause to which he had devoted many years.

Animal owners responding in the comments remembered both his professional skills and his character. Their messages described a veterinarian who was kind and friendly, with some recalling years of bringing animals to him for treatment and others describing appointments shortly before his death.

Vita Boiko wrote that Huzenkov had treated her animal, Liova, and that another consultation had been planned for the day after her comment. Remembering the veterinarian, she wrote: "What a kind-hearted and compassionate man. May he rest in peace."

Another commenter, Halyna Holosovska, said Huzenkov had sterilised two of her dogs on 28 October, two days before the attack in which he was killed. She recalled taking animals to him for sterilisation over many years and expressed disbelief at the news of his death.

The Kyiv Animal Protection Society Happy Shore also paid tribute to Huzenkov's work. It said he had cared for animals at the Temporary Animal Shelter in the Holosiivskyi district from its earliest days, treating each with compassion. His involvement included walking dogs alongside volunteers and helping with everything at the shelter.

The attack that killed Huzenkov took place during a series of Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv from the evening of 29 October into the morning of 30 October. Russian forces used ballistic missiles and drones, damaging apartment buildings, cars, a petrol station, a restaurant, a medical facility and a warehouse.