Lioness and three cubs trapped on front line in war-torn Ukraine rescued

A LIONESS and her three cubs trapped on the front line in Ukraine have been rescued.

Asya was stranded with her eight-month-old offspring, Emi, Teddi and Santa, in a ramshackle breeding facility in Donetsk, when it was overrun by Russian forces.

Their owners fled the site, leaving them without food or water as battles raged across the region.

Now, a wildlife charity has rescued them as well as a two-year-old male lion called Viseris.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare sedated them before a 20-hour journey to a zoo in Poznan, Poland.

The zoo has already taken in around 200 animals from Ukraine since the war began 16 months ago, including lions, tigers, wolves and bears.

New homes are being sought.

Natalia Gozak of IFAW said: "These are the unexpected victims of this war.

"Lions that should be roaming the plains of Africa, have instead been found in backyard breeding facilities in my country ravaged by Russian invasion.

"As their owners were forced to flee, they were left to languish."

Remigiusz Kozinski of the zoo's education department said: "The lions are safe and sound - "they are adapting to their new conditions."

The rescue came after a group of near starving lions and tigers were saved from cramped cages in Ukraine’s Carpathian mountains and Mykolaiv, close to the frontline.