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Oscar-winning director fundraises to help animals impacted by war in Ukraine

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by Kate Tsurkan
Oscar-winning director fundraises to help animals impacted by war in Ukraine
Director Chloé Zhao attends the 2026 Unforgettable Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic via Getty Images)

Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao announced on March 19 that she is taking part in a fundraiser to help animals impacted by Russia's war against Ukraine.

Contributors to the fundraiser, organized by Zhao in partnership with Charitybuzz, can enter for a chance to share a virtual cup of tea with the director. The proceeds will benefit Animal Rescue Kharkiv, a nonprofit organization (NGO).

"In a region devastated by war, animals are too often the forgotten victims. We find them where others cannot, treat wounds both visible and unseen, and give them refuge until the day they are ready for a new life," the NGO said in a statement.

"Behind it all is a herculean effort including more than 110 staff members working together in the face of relentless challenges, to ensure that compassion does not falter even in the darkest times."

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According to a post from February on the NGO's Instagram page, they have been able to rescue the lives of more than 28,300 animals since the start of the full-scale war.

The support of high-profile figures such as Zhao — whose “Nomadland” won best picture and best director at the 2020 Oscars, and whose “Hamnet” garnered multiple nominations in 2026 — brings crucial attention to organizations striving to sustain their work in the full-scale war’s fifth year.

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Kate Tsurkan

Culture Reporter

Kate Tsurkan is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent who writes mostly about culture-related topics. Her newsletter Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan, which focuses specifically on Ukrainian culture, is published weekly by the Kyiv Independent and is partially supported by a generous grant from the Nadia Sophie Seiler Fund. Kate co-translated Oleh Sentsov’s “Diary of a Hunger Striker,” Myroslav Laiuk’s “Bakhmut,” Andriy Lyubka’s “War from the Rear,” and Khrystia Vengryniuk’s “Long Eyes,” among other books. Some of her previous writing and translations have appeared in the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Harpers, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. She is the co-founder of Apofenie Magazine and, in addition to Ukrainian and Russian, also knows French.

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