Stepan is your average tabby cat who’s become a social media star. I like that. The ordinary can become the extraordinary. He became a successful animal influencer during the Covid pandemic rising to international prominence as cat lovers related to his videos of parties during long spells of social distancing. It was the era of lockdowns and Stepan entertained millions. One video shows him sitting with a glass of wine and listening to the Stevie wonder song I Just Called to Say I Love You. It gathered 27 million views.
But the invasion of Ukraine by the Kremlin is not so light-hearted. It is devastating. Russia has been accused of genocide. It looks like it is with schools and maternity hospitals being bombed and Ukrainians being herded off to Russia as propaganda tools.
It seemed that Stepan’s caregiver is a woman called Hannah. That’s all we know. The last post on her Instagram page charts their escape from Kharkiv, in the north of Ukraine about 30 miles from the Russian border. It was a city that the Russians expected to take very quickly but as we now know the Russian invasion has been bogged down thanks to a fierce defence by brave Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers.
The bombing began for Stepan on February 24, early in the morning. Hannah and Stepan were sleeping at home. At 5 AM they heard explosions. The attack on Kharkiv had begun and the war had arrived at their doorstep.
The house was not destroyed but damaged as a shell flew into a neighbour’s balcony. There was no fire luckily. They spent two nights in the basement and without electricity for a week, she reports on Instagram. They had to leave.
They managed to get a train with the help of volunteers to Lviv in the far west of the country. The journey took 20 hours. From there they crossed the border to Poland. It took them nine hours to get across into Poland. When they got there, they were offered help from the World Influences and Bloggers Association from Monaco. What a wonderful organisation!
They helped Hannah and Stepan to get to France. They will stay there and wait until they can return to their home in Ukraine. She says: “We’re all right now. We worry very much about our relatives in Ukraine and will do the very best we can to help our country.”
They had travelled almost 1,500 miles. Stepan has a YouTube channel and accounts on TikTok and Twitter. He’s a big-time influencer. An advertisement for the luxury Italian fashion house Valentino shows him posing with a $2,800 handbag.
His last Instagram post has half a million likes and he has 1.2m followers. Well done Hannah.
Hey I also found his Instagram page! A very brave man willing to give his life to save pets.
Mike do you think you could give this Ukrainian actor a shout out on your blog? While I’ve seen lots of groups saving many dogs and a few cats this man is saving hundreds of cats.
Ukrainian actor Alexei Surovtsev went under fire to Irpin (Kyiv Oblast) to save pets. We share with you a video of his brave acts.
Will do. I have saved the links. Thanks.