In a special ceremony on Sunday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky honored a mine-sniffing dog credited with discovering more than 200 bombs since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. Patron, a two-and-a-half-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, received a medal for “Devoted Service in the Ukraine Army.” Over the weekend, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended his award ceremony. According to Reuters, Patron is seen heading into the event with his handler Myhailo Iliev, a major in the Civil Protection Service, in a video provided by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense on Twitter.
“Today, I presented our sappers in the presence of Mr. Prime Minister. In particular, Patron, a modest but well-known sapper,” Zelensky said in a statement. Patron, he continued, is “a dog that helps clear our country of the occupiers’ traces.” And who teaches mine safety to children?” Patron has been acknowledged. Four-legged heroes are among those who rescue lives every day. Patron, a bomb-sniffing dog, is the most well-known of them all. @ZelenskyyUa presented him with an award “For Dedicated Work in the #UAarmy” in the presence of @JustinTrudeau.
“Teaching youngsters to detect and avoid hazardous things is now one of the most critical duties, thanks to the Russian invaders.” “Russia has provided to Ukraine the ‘freedom’ of a safe existence for Ukrainian children,” he stated. Patron earned his medal the day before Russia’s Victory Day, during which President Vladimir Putin blamed the conflict on the West. The terrier, whose name in Ukrainian means “ammo,” operates mostly in and around Chernihiv, an area that has suffered significant warfare since the invasion began on Feb. 24.
Since the invasion, Patron has become a social media celebrity, routinely appearing in films where he is shown sniffing out explosives and bombs. Mine-sniffing dogs have been deployed in conflict and post-conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, and Laos to help discover explosives and landmines that might jeopardize rehabilitation efforts, according to the United States Institute of Peace.
