Two people have been killed and 45 injured due to a rampaging pack of stray dogs on the loose in a Russian town.
Yevgenia Zhbannikova, who is a former official for the industrial town of Ukhta in Russia’s north-western Komi Republic, is charged with financial fraud.
It is believed she did not even spend half of the funds totalling nearly RUB 7.5 million (GBP 76,600) that had been earmarked for the capture and sterilisation of stray dogs in the town.
The failure to fully carry out the operation had tragic consequences, with two deaths and 45 people injured, including a seven-year-old boy who was almost killed.
Soldier Maxim Serebro said of his mother, who was fatally attacked by a stray dog: “Her hands were mutilated, she had lacerations on her head, and her legs and clothes were all torn.
“She died on the spot.”
An eight-year-old girl was also bitten by stray dogs in her schoolyard in late October. Her parents say she is still recovering.
And three homeless people were bitten by a group of the feral animals last year.
A seven-year-old boy, pictured here, received horrific injuries to his face and arm following a stray dog attack. Local media reported he was lucky not to lose his life.
And a 16-year-old student named Victoria Zorina, who had come from neighbouring Sosnegorsk to visit a friend, was also bitten by at least 10 dogs and passed out during the attack.
She was saved by a passing warehouse worker named Magomed Avidov, who chased off the canines. She has since had to undergo several operations on her leg.
Warehouse worker Sergey Utkin told local media he always carries around a stick in case he needs to beat off any of the estimated 4,000 stray dogs that roam the town.
The identity of the other deceased person was not divulged.
As reported in local media, Zhbannikova has not said where the unspent funds went. The criminal case against her is ongoing.
