As evening settled over a nature park outside Kyiv, groups of children gathered around volunteers carrying cloth bags filled with bats. One by one, the animals were gently released into the darkening sky.
Each time a bat darted off into the air, the crowd responded with excitement. More than a thousand people had come to watch, including families, bat lovers, soldiers on leave, and even a few visitors dressed in Gothic style, reports AP from Kyiv, Ukraine.
The release took place late Saturday and was part of several springtime events organized across Ukraine. Many of the bats had been rescued from areas heavily affected by fighting in the eastern part of the country.
According to volunteer Anastasiia Vovk from the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center, the event also served an important conservation purpose. She explained that bats in Ukraine are considered endangered, making their protection especially meaningful.
All 28 bat species found in Ukraine are under legal protection because their numbers have been falling.
For many people in attendance, the evening was more than a wildlife event. After a difficult winter of freezing weather, repeated Russian drone and missile strikes, and major electricity shortages, it offered a rare chance to spend time outdoors with family and enjoy something uplifting.
Children wearing bat-themed shirts, hats, and accessories watched closely as volunteers fed the bats mealworms with tweezers before setting them free. Some children were even allowed to hold the animals while wearing protective gloves.
One Kyiv resident, 54-year-old Oleksii Beliaiev, came with his family and said the event was a reminder that ordinary life must continue, even during war. He noted that while the war remains the central reality, people still need moments of normalcy and connection. Beliaiev, who owns a small printing, also volunteers in support of military efforts.
Experts say the conflict has affected wildlife as well as people. Shelling has destroyed buildings that once served as shelter for bats, while loud explosions can frighten them from safe hibernation sites.
Alona Shulenko, who led Saturday’s release, explained that bats are especially vulnerable in winter. Because they hibernate during the cold season, sudden disturbances can be deadly. She added that bats reproduce slowly, usually giving birth to only one or two young each year, so rebuilding their populations takes a long time.
As natural places for hibernation disappear, bats increasingly move into urban spaces, hiding in cracks in buildings or on balconies. But when those structures are repaired or destroyed, entire groups of bats can be wiped out.
All bat species in Ukraine feed on insects and are protected by law. The country also lies along a key migration corridor in eastern Europe.
The rehabilitation charity says it has saved more than 30,000 bats overall, including around 4,000 during the last winter alone.
Shulenko said that everyone in the country is facing hardship because of the war, but her team continues its work because they know how much depends on it. She stressed that without their efforts, thousands of bats would not survive.
