An Australian veterinarian in Ukraine's war zone has been confronted with disturbing scenes as he tends to hundreds of sick, injured and abandoned animals.
WARNING: This story contains content that some readers may find distressing.
Lachlan Campbell has been in the war-torn country for three weeks after initially only planning to go as far as the Polish-Ukraine border.
"I could see what I could do for the animals there", Dr Campbell said.
For Dr Campbell, the work has been challenging and unpredictable, and unlike anything he deals with on home soil.
Animals left to starve
He described a shelter where only 150 of its 450 animals survived after volunteers had to flee.
"[The shelter] was surrounded by Russians, and the volunteers there had to abandon it, so all the animals were left for about a month without food or water," he said.
"It's some pretty confronting scenes when you see large numbers of animals like that, but also the extremes they've had to go to, to survive."
Refugee pets on the list
The Sunshine Coast-based vet planed to check on animals around Kyiv, Irpin and Bucha in coming days, where some animals had been abandoned in homes for more than a month without food, water or warmth.
He has also been visiting refugee camps.
"I went to a few refugee locations, one in particular at the university in Lviv, which houses about 800 refugees all sleeping in halls.
"That was a really positive thing for the refugees there."
He said parts of the country were "functioning as normal as possible" with people going to school, shops, walking down the streets, but living with constant reminders of the war.
"You've got these big checkpoints and bollards and guys with machine guns and military transports heading around," Dr Campbell said.
Air raid sirens interrupt work
Mr Campbell described how things could change quickly while on the job.
In the middle of a pop-up clinic at one refugee centre, the air raid siren sounded.
They stopped work immediately, gathered equipment and scurried for the door.
"Where do we go?" Dr Campbell was heard asking in a social media video, to which a colleague replied, "We are hiding".
He said they remained on high alert even when returning home after a day's work.
By way of example, he explained how he was currently staying in a Kyiv apartment block with their guide.
"I've literally just come in now and went to turn the bedroom light on, and she said, 'No, no, you can't turn the bedroom lights on'," Dr Campbell said.
"I guess this is just another one of those scenarios where I just don't know what's gonna [sic] happen next, tonight or tomorrow."
$70,000 donated
The vet plans to return to Australia later this month.
He said he was appreciative of more than $70,000 in donations from around the world that had helped cover a range of costs, such as food, medication and treatment for the animals in Ukraine.
"To come over here and be able to help, not only physically but actually through financial means, it's been fantastic," Dr Campbell said.
"What I've really been able to do is come into these areas where the foundations and charities are working and say, 'Hey guys, what do you need? What can I do to help you?' and make a real difference."
