Dog cries with joy on being reunited with owner after they were separated by violence in Kyiv

In a heartwarming moment, a dog was reunited with its owner after the pair were separated by the violence near Kyiv. The video of the husky running toward its owner after recognizing him and bawling with joy while jumping on him is going viral on the internet. As complete chaos ruled the city in the wake of the attacks by Russian forces, Nessie the husky was separated from its owner. Volunteers with a battalion fighting for Ukraine came across the dog during the recapture of the city of Bucha. Nessie was reunited with its owner in the parking lot of a supermarket in Kyiv, reported Metro. "As long as some treat people like animals, we are fighting for the lives of not only humans but every animal,” read a statement from the Kastus Kalinouski Battalion.

The emotional reunion provided a stark contrast to the news of death and despair coming from Ukraine. Russians have been accused of war crimes including torture, murder and rape in Bucha, where the husky and its owner were reunited. Ukrainian officials have claimed to have found the bodies of at least 410 civilians in Bucha and other nearby towns after Russian forces retreated. Bucha is a town just outside Kyiv. Russian officials have denied the allegations.

The Kastus Kalinouski Battalion were fighting Russian forces in Bucha when they found Nessie wandering the streets looking for its owners. They took the dog and kept it safe until they could find its owner, which they eventually succeeded, leading to the wholesome reunion.

The video shows Nessie walking gingerly before speeding up as it recognizes its owner. Nessie gains speed and gallops into his arms while crying throughout. Nessie jumps on him and licks his face, before running around him while crying loudly. The man pets the dog repeatedly, all smiles, having been reunited with his dog. The video ends with him shaking hands with a member of the battalion who helped reunite them. 

Animals and pets have suffered, been separated and even died during Russia's attack on Ukraine. Many heartbreaking stories have come out of Ukraine about animals, but one that gave us a lot of hope was about a woman carrying her aged dog to safety. As we reported, Alisa carried her elderly dog on her shoulders for nearly 10 miles to the Poland border. She was told to abandon the dogs and escape, but for her, they were part of the family. She had two large dogs, one of them an elderly German shepherd. 

“Our dogs are part of our family. My dog has experienced all the happy and sad moments with us,” she said about carrying her dog to safety.

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that Russia will face stronger sanctions for the “war crimes” in Ukraine. “I made clear that Russia would pay a severe and immediate price for its atrocities in Bucha,” said Biden. "Responsible nations have to come together to hold these perpetrators accountable," he said, as reported by CNN. "We will keep raising the economic cost and ratchet up the pain for Putin and further increase Russia's economic isolation."

Russia's attack on Ukraine is a developing story, and we’ll update as we learn more. Information is swiftly changing and Upworthy is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency in developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication.