Ukraine thanks service dog Patron for locating over 150 explosives in Russia war

Ukraine’s foreign ministry took to Twitter on Monday to praise its four-legged member of the armed forces, Patron, the service dog. According to the ministry, Patron has detected around 150 explosive devices in the city of Chernihiv since the battle began on February 24.

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“Patron is a service dog in Chernihiv. He has discovered over 150 explosive devices in Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion began. Patron works closely with deminers to make Ukrainian cities safe again. Thank you so much for your service,” the ministry said in a tweet that included a photo of Patron.

The service dog can be seen on duty, sniffing for explosives, with a Ukrainian soldier carrying a metal detector in hand, in a widely circulated video released on the Instagram account @patron_dsns.

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On Sunday, as the conflict reached its 61st day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kyiv. The United States has authorised a $165 million ammunition sale and the return of diplomats on the following day, as part of its vow of increased weaponry aid and a strengthened diplomatic presence in the war-torn country.

Meanwhile, strikes on the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol, which is defended by 2,000 Ukrainian forces, continued. As Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine reached its third month, air raid sirens were sounded across most of Ukraine early Sunday evening, from Lviv in the far west to Odessa on the Black Sea to Kharkiv in the north, according to Reuters, citing local media sources.

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In the coming days, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet with the presidents of Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine. Since the beginning of the invasion on February 24, almost five million Ukrainians have left the nation, cities have been destroyed, and many have perished.