Ukrainian video shows rescue workers pulling a puppy out of rubble after Russian forces shelled a village

• A video posted on Telegram purportedly shows Ukrainian rescuers saving a puppy trapped under rubble.
• The puppy and its owner both survived Russian shelling of a village in Ukraine's Donbas region, according to a Ukrainian advisor.

A video shared on social media by a Ukrainian official purportedly shows rescue workers pulling a puppy out of rubble after Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donbas region.

In a minute-long undated video posted to Telegram by Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to Ukraine's internal affairs minister, rescuers could be seen digging through a mound of rubble and tossing aside debris.

"There is someone down there, dig dig dig!" one rescuer says, in Russian.

Rescuers eventually find a puppy buried underneath the rubble.

"Pull him out of there, but be careful!" a rescuer says.

—Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) April 13, 2022

"He's alive, the beautiful boy. Give him some water there," another says. One of the rescuers, who is wearing a patch with the Ukrainian coat of arms on it, pets the pup and shakes dust off his fur.

The video then cuts to an elderly man — who Gerashchenko claims to be the puppy's owner — being reunited with his pet.

"Thank you guys, for doing your work so quickly and efficiently," the man says in Ukrainian. "I give you a big thank you for this."

Gerashchenko tweeted that the dog's owner "narrowly escaped death from shelling."

"Rescue services work 24/7 doing the hardest work and saving lives," Gerashchenko said.

Insider wasn't immediately able to verify the video, or confirm when or where it was taken

Russian forces are expected to launch a major offensive in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region after failing to capture Kyiv and repositioning troops away from the country's north.

Dozens were killed last week after a Russian rocket hit a train station in Kramatorsk as civilians were trying to evacuate amid warnings from Ukrainian and Western officials.

Translations by Nikita Angarski.