In the Romanian mountains, a man from Kharkiv was rescued, having survived thanks to a kitten that kept him company.

A resident of Kharkiv who fled mobilization was rescued in the mountains of Romania.

This was reported by Associated Press, citing the Romanian Rescue Service, according to "Dumka".

According to AP, the Ukrainian embarked on a perilous journey to escape to Romania.

The man was extracted from a deep mountain gorge in sub-zero temperatures along with an unexpected companion: his kitten named Persik.

More than a dozen rescuers worked in severe blizzard conditions to save 28-year-old Vladislav Duda, who was found "wet and frozen" and severely hypothermic in a ravine 400 meters deep in the northern region of Maramureș last week.

Duda fled Ukraine to avoid being drafted into his country's armed forces, which are currently at war with Russia.

"The cat was warm and kept him warm, thus saving his life. The only thing we noticed was that he cared for the cat. He didn’t care for himself," said Dan Benga, director of the mountain rescue service in Maramureș, to the Associated Press.

The man is currently recovering from hypothermia, while the kitten has been sent to a rehabilitation center.