The 12 Vartovykh (12 Guards) Charitable Foundation was established in 2019 with a focus on reviving cultural heritage. But, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the foundation has operated as a comprehensive animal welfare organization — rescuing and evacuating animals from areas near the front line, giving them the treatment and rehabilitation they need, and finding them loving homes, bypassing shelters.
The team also evacuates families with their pets and conducts regular neuter missions for stray animals in local communities, covering an average of around 10,000 animals a year. Its main areas of operation are front-line territories, particularly in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblasts.
In June 2023, Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka dam, flooding towns and villages across Kherson Oblast. 12 Vartovykh coordinated the animal rescue there, and around 2,500 animals were saved that month alone.
Another of its most dangerous missions was the evacuation of a farm in Udachne, Donetsk Oblast, in January 2025. The farm was just a few kilometers from Russian positions. The team got out around 100 animals and two people.
As the team puts it, "We rescue all living things. People, farm animals — we've rescued everything from horses, cows and donkeys to countless goats and even chickens; wild animals, including fox cubs, swans and red-listed birds; and domestic animals — cats and dogs."
The foundation's team drives into combat zones, risks their lives and goes into debt, all to rescue animals put in danger by Russia's war. From Oct. 1 to Oct. 22, 100% of the profit from this collection, plus all tips, will go to 12 Vartovykh. We aim to raise $10,000 to help them get animals out of danger, keep them alive and find them homes.