Beloved Instagram cat flees Ukraine with family

• Stepan the cat has become beloved to the online community for his goofy and curious personality.
• When his social media updates grew less frequent amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, his fans helped spread awareness of their situation.
• He and his family has since fled Ukraine and managed to travel safely to Poland and then France.

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Meet Stepan. The internet-famous cat is known for his pictures and videos on social media, which show him chilling beside a drink in a bar while a party seemingly goes on around him.

With over a million followers on both Instagram and TikTok, he has become beloved by his fans, who keep looking forward to new videos of the goofy and curious cat.

@annaolala

✌🏻😹 ♬ 2021ГУДБАЙ – • ЖИВОТНЫЕ • ПИТОМЦЫ •

Stepan and his family live in Ukraine, so when the Russian invasion started, his fans were worried for their safety.

They started posting less frequently as the war arrived on their doorstep.

Their followers started a Twitter account to post updates and help raise awareness of their situation.

When his family finally got to safety, they made sure to update their followers.

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A post shared by Степан (@loveyoustepan)

They wrote on Instagram that they had to spend two nights in their basement and go without electricity for a week. They then went to a nearby basement to charge their phone so they can leave the city.

“Kharkiv volunteers helped by taking us to the railway station,” his family said.

They got on the train and traveled about 20 hours from Kharkiv to Lviv, while Stepan looked out the windows and watched the world go by.

They then traveled along the border to Poland, and saw a lot of people (about 4 to 5 thousand) in line. It took them 9 hours to finally cross the border.

“When we reached Poland, we were offered help from the World Influencers and Bloggers Association from Monaco. They helped us get to France,” they continued.

They are now safe in France, where they are waiting for the day they can return home.

“We’re [alright] now,” they added. “We worry very much about our relatives in Ukraine and will do the very best we can to help our country.”

Everyone was relieved to hear that Stepan and his family are safe. While they are not asking for donations, their fans wanted to help out as much as they can by spreading awareness and raising funds for charities.

You can see more updates on Stepan and his family on Instagram and TikTok.

Source: The Dodo