Mother fed stray dogs to starving kids rescued from filthy house that had cockroaches 'dropping from ceiling'
Authorities have reportedly rescued two starving children who were allegedly forced to eat stray dogs to survive while living in a cockroach-infested home in Ukraine. Masha, 4, and her two-year-old brother were found at the home surrounded by heaps of rubbish before they were rescued by responding officers from the filthy apartment in Kharkiv, located in northeast Ukraine, The Sun reported. 30-year-old Lilia Granenko, their mother, is said to have killed stray dogs in the vicinity and cooked their meat to feed her starving kids. According to the report, the children were surrounded by their own feces after their toilet broke. The rat-infested home also had cockroaches that would "drop from the ceiling." Authorities said the children allegedly never went outside, and also lived with their grandmother, who has not been identified.
The home was stuffed with waste from rubbish bins the women had collected for years, thereby leaving the flat infested with rats and cockroaches. "Cockroaches fall down from the ceiling in there and the stench makes you retch with disgust," a neighbor reportedly said.
The Sun noted how the toilet in the flat had been out of order and the water supply was cut off a long time ago due to unpaid bills. Police responded to a call from neighbors and raided the family home, arresting Granenko in the process. The mother now faces at least five years behind bars if convicted of neglecting her children.
"The mother, grandmother, and the children relieve themselves right on the floor," said volunteer Yevgeny Zub, who filmed the police operation. "I've seen a lot but never something like that."
Law enforcement noted how neighbors summoned them to the family's home in the city of Kharkiv. Officers are reportedly seen on video making their way through piles of rubbish before carrying the kids away. Meanwhile, their mother is heard expressing her helplessness about the situation. Witnesses reportedly said the boy had to be carried out wearing only a reused nappy because "he did not have any clothes." The toddler was eventually wrapped in a blanket by a kind local resident and handed over to officers. Both the minors were taken to the hospital for a check-up, per the report.
Animal rights activists also lost no time arriving at the scene after being tipped off that the mother caught "stray dogs and used their meat to feed her children." "The pooches are being killed in the apartment then cooked and eaten by the family," one activist identified only as Zub noted.
They reportedly found four canines locked in one of the rooms of the dilapidated apartment, and rescued them. "A criminal case for malicious non-compliance with child-rearing obligations has been initiated against the mother," police spokesman Oleksandr Salo revealed. According to the report, Granenko was previously deprived of parental rights. She reportedly has five children from different men and lost custody of her oldest child to the father. Meanwhile, the courts placed two of her other older children in an orphanage.
That said, the rescued children will also be placed in an orphanage until the court makes a decision on their future. If convicted, the mother faces up to five years behind bars, according to The Sun.