Although a platoon of Russian elite special forces was camped on his doorstep, Alexi Kosenko said he showed them “no fear and no respect” as he subjected the soldiers to harsh abuse on a daily basis for daring to invade his beloved country.
“I called them pigs, I called them dogs, I told them to go home,” grins the 49-year-old.
His neighbors feared that one day the Russians would have had enough of his wild antics and simply kill him, as they had done to other Ukrainians who had so openly dissented.
At one point, Alexi found himself staring defiantly down the barrel of a Russian tank. But he still stands here today, alive and well, unscathed by the invaders.
It quickly becomes clear why this is the case when Alexi introduces us to his white Bengal tiger. Dara, an 11-month-old cub raised by Alexi from birth, playfully wrestles with his owner in her cage at the private zoo.
Alexi Kosenko with his white Bengal tiger cub Dara. Raised from birth by Alexi, the 11-month-old cub playfully wrestles with its owner in her cage at the private zoo
Alexi said the misguided intruders broke into his property looking for Ukrainian forces and was taken aback when he showed him Dara and a pet lynx named Simba
A stroll through the cages on the sprawling property is reminiscent of images from the hit Netflix show Tiger King. Certainly, Alexi seems cut from the same stuff as some of the wild characters on this show.
The rental property developer has spent the last eight years building his sanctuary in the rural village of Shybene. It’s down the road from the bombed-out town of Boradjanka, where there was fierce fighting during Putin’s botched invasion to capture the capital, Kyiv, 40 miles away.
Surrounded by pine trees and with its own fish pond and meadow, it is an idyllic spot. Perhaps the invading Russian soldiers thought so too – until they met the indomitable Mr. Kosenko.
“I didn’t show them any fear or respect,” he declares triumphantly. “I said, ‘Who do you think you are? Why are you here?” They said they were hunting Nazis and I said: “You are lost. There is nothing here but dachas (summer houses) and old people.”
Alexi said, “Dara was crying all the time… All the animals were so scared. The ground shook with shells and explosions. I was worried that they would all have heart attacks.
Alexi – pictured with food for Dara, his Bengal tiger cub – spent the two-month stint with his wife and five children at his dacha in Shybene
Alexi said the misguided intruders broke into his property looking for Ukrainian forces and was taken aback when he showed him Dara and a pet lynx named Simba.
“They were worried,” he says, throwing his head back with a throaty laugh. ‘They said, ‘What’s the purpose of this?’ They asked how much she eats.”
He explains that Dara eats a whopping 11 pounds of meat every day and Simba needs about 4 pounds. Then there are 350 of Alexi’s other animals to take care of, including a noisy macaque named Bob, deer, rheas and peacocks.
The businessman from Kyiv spent the two-month stint with his wife and five children at his dacha in Shybene. But as the grenades and bullets flew overhead, his main concern was the safety of his beloved animals on the estate.
Alexi stared at the barrel of a Russian tank in his desperation to feed his animals during the weeks of Russian occupation. In the picture Dara the tiger cub
“Dara cried the whole time,” he says. “All the animals were so scared. The ground shook with shells and explosions. I was afraid they would all have heart attacks.’
Soldiers formed a ring of steel around the village and refused to let anyone out. Alexi had backup generators to keep his freezers full of cow legs for Dara to work during power outages. But by the time the cast hit its second month, he was quickly running out of food.
He says: “I yelled at the Russians. I said my animals would starve. I rode my quad to the checkpoints and argued with them.”
The sanctuary is adjacent to a small fish pond with neighboring dachas that were frequently raided by the Russians
As a chain, he smoked cigarettes and knocked back powerful shots. homemade vodka, Alexi revealed that Russian troops had forced him to strip down to his underwear one night when temperatures dropped below minus eight degrees Celsius. He had once again ridden with his 10-year-old son to a checkpoint on the outskirts of the village when 20 soldiers surrounded them.
He says: “They had all their equipment and weapons pointed at me. I told them: ‘I will not surrender to you and if you want to kill me then do it, but not to my son.’
“They took my son in one of their military vehicles. So I said, ‘Okay, if there are men among you, then let’s step aside and we’ll settle this like men – fist to fist.’
Alexi introduced himself with a local deer that he rescued and hand raised when she was abandoned by her mother
After a freezing 30-minute pause – still in his pants – the troops finally let him and his son go. But they stole the quad and took his cell phone. The intruders also came and snatched his black Mitsubishi Colt SUV, which he later found with the letter V painted on it — the symbol used on all Russian military vehicles during Putin’s push into Kyiv.
As the crew moved on, Alexi said he had to kill two of his goats to feed Dara. He then made another trip to the checkpoints to beg mercy for his hungry animals.
“I was arguing with the soldiers and then I heard this loud engine noise,” he recalls.
“I saw this tank come out from behind a building and stop right in front of me. Then the tower started to move. It turned and pointed straight at me. My palms were sweating and my heart was beating so fast. I said, “Don’t you see, my animals need food?” but the soldiers thought I was crazy. They just told me to go.
Pictured: Simba the lynx. As the crew moved on, Alexi said he had to kill two of his goats to feed Dara
There are 350 of Alexi’s other animals to take care of, including a noisy macaque named Bob (pictured), deer, rheas and peacocks
“My neighbors said to me, ‘Alexi, you’ll kill yourself if you keep doing this,’ but I didn’t care. This is my country. I go where I want and do what I want. F*** these pigs who come here and tell me what to do in my own country.
Finally, redemption came when Ukraine’s military forced Russian forces into a humiliating retreat last month. The village was free and Alexi could breathe a sigh of relief.
His family has since fled to Belarus and intends to go to Poland to end the war. But Alexi is busy dreaming up big plans for the future of his dacha.
‘Who knows? Maybe I’ll get a tiger now,” he laughs.