Ukraine Special Forces Forced to Obscure Face of 'Extremely Classified' Cat

Just days after the second anniversary of the beginning of war in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine offered a glimpse of levity with a picture of a feline affectionately dubbed a "Special Forces cat" on its official social-media page on X (formerly Twitter).

The image features a soldier cradling a brown-and-black tabby cat, both with their eyes concealed, thanks to an edited bar on the picture. "Have you ever seen a Special Forces cat?" the caption reads. "The cat is extremely classified, so we have to obscure its face." With thousands of views on social media, the post elicited plenty of responses from people who were delighted by the apparently very important feline.

Throughout the ongoing war with Russia, Ukrainians have found steadfast companionship with animals, particularly cats and dogs. On social media, the owners of notable Ukrainian animal figures have moved away from just cute pictures and begun to comment on the ongoing war with Russia.

Viral favorite Stepan the cat is from Saltivka, a district of Kharkiv that has been badly damaged by Russian shelling.

Before the war, his account @loveyoustepan was just another social account packed with super cute cat pictures. However, since the beginning of the conflict, Stepan's posts pivoted to pleas for the end of war and sharing the reality of living among the invasion.

Efforts among Ukrainian people to address the struggles of stray cat populations have continued, too. They have been working tirelessly throughout the invasion to continue to provide sterilization and vaccination to animals left in the middle of conflict.

On the front lines, cats have become a much-loved part of the war effort. In the fall of 2022, felines were sent to the front lines to deal with mice and rats that were destroying uniforms, blankets and food. They have since become well-documented companions for soldiers amid harsh war conditions as they build bonds with their animals.

Of the latest viral photo, Clara wrote: "Ukraine can't lose, they've got a cat army."

Iva added: "As someone who has been bitten by a cat, I can attest to the lethality of its bite - it nearly gave me blood poisoning."

Others posted that they figured all felines had this level of importance. Cherie commented: "I thought all cats were special forces."

Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine via email for comment.

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