After harsh winter, Ukrainians find joy in releasing bats rescued from war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — As night falls over a nature park on the edge of Kyiv, children crowd around volunteers who carefully open cloth bags and release bats into the twilight.

As each one takes flight, snapping through the air, more than 1,000 spectators cheer and applaud — families, off-duty soldiers, and bat enthusiasts, a few dressed in Goth outfits.

Hundreds of bats, many rescued from war-torn areas in the east of the country, were released late Saturday at one of multiple events around Ukraine planned to coincide with the arrival of spring.

“This is important for us as an organization because these are on a red list of endangered animals. Preserving them is very important,” said Anastasiia Vovk, a volunteer at the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center, which organized the release.

All 28 bat species in Ukraine are listed as protected animals due to declining populations.

For many attendees, the event offered welcome relief and an excuse for a family outing after a harsh winter marked by subzero temperatures, nightly Russian drone and missile attacks and crippling power cuts.

Late Saturday, children, many wearing bat-themed T-shirts and hats, watched as volunteers fed the animals mealworms with tweezers before letting them go. Some were allowed to wear gloves and handle the bats themselves.

“Life goes on despite the war,” said Oleksii Beliaiev, a 54-year-old Kyiv resident who attended with his family. “The war is the main thing right now, but there has to be something else as well.”

Beliaiev runs a small printing business and spends time volunteering for army projects.

The war has displaced animals as well as people. Buildings destroyed by shelling damage bats’ shelters, and explosions terrify the tiny mammals, experts say.

“In winter, bats hibernate, and if they are disturbed, they can die. They reproduce slowly — one or two offspring per year — so populations recover very slowly,” said Alona Shulenko, who headed Saturday’s release.

“As natural hibernation sites disappear, bats move into cities, into cracks in buildings and balconies. But repairs or destruction of these places can kill entire colonies,” she said.

All Ukrainian bat species are insect-eating and legally protected, while the country lies on an important east European migratory route.

The charity says it has rescued more than 30,000 in total, including 4,000 bats last winter.

“We are all living in wartime, and everyone has their own struggles,” Shulenko said. “But we are doing what we know best. … If we stop what we are doing, thousands of bats will die.”

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Associated Press writers Volodymyr Yurchuk and Dan Bashakov contributed to this report.

A woman helps a rescued bat take off during a ceremony of returning bats to the wild in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A girl releases a rescued bat during a ceremony of returning bats to the wild in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A volunteer of the Ukrainian bat rehabilitation center shows the wing of a rescued bat to people before returning bats to the wild in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A boy releases a rescued bat during a ceremony of returning bats to the wild in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A rescued bat sits on a hand during a ceremony of returning bats to the wild in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

STAWELL, Australia (AP) — American sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson surged through the field Monday to win the Stawell Gift, an annual race contested on handicap over 120 meters on grass in a small Australian town near Melbourne.

In the 144th edition of the event, Richardson provided one of its most breathtaking finales as she started at scratch and caught the field at the 90-meter mark before pulling away for an astonishing win in 13.15 seconds.

“Just make sure I’m patient that first 10-meters like my coach today told me, and just executing the rest,” Richardson told Seven Network television post race. “I think I realized I was gonna win right past 90.”

The 26-year-old American, one of the fastest women of all time, is just the third woman to win the race from scratch and claimed a prize of 40,000 Australian dollars ($27,500).

Richardson won a silver medal in the 100 meters in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and gold in the 4x100 relay that same year. She also claimed the 100-meter title at the 2023 World Championships.

After a near calamity in the semifinals earlier Monday, where Richardson rose too soon and was almost pipped on the line, the American made no errors in the final, chasing down the field early and running through the line powerfully.

She celebrated with fans before embracing boyfriend and former world champion Christian Coleman, who was the marquee name of the men's draw. She and Coleman remain in a relationship despite a domestic violence charge against Richardson last July.

“This is one of the most exciting, fun, and entertaining track meets I’ve ever ran in, not even just that, but the love, the true love and support for track and field, unbeatable,” she said.

Former 100-meter World Champion, Coleman failed to qualify for the men's final after finishing sixth in his semifinal earlier Monday with 12.48 seconds. Only the winners of the six semifinals for both the men's and women's division qualified for the respective finals.

Both Richardson and Coleman raced from “scratch” meaning they were required to run the entire distance and chase down opponents, which proved too much of a gulf to bridge for Coleman, despite him closing the gap appreciably in the latter stages of his heat.

“Yeah, it is what it is, but I mean, I gave it everything I got, like you said, they’re great athletes, so when you’re giving up that much of a margin, I mean, it’s pretty tough,” Coleman said to Seven Network television.

Australian Olufemi Komolafe won the men’s Stawell Gift ahead of Jake Ireland and Dutchman Liam van der Schaaf.

Earlier Monday, Richardson powered through the field to win her semifinal by just 0.007 seconds after she leaned back at the finish allowing local Halle Martin to almost steal the race in a photo finish.

“I feel like I am having a great time, but also working on race pattern, me and my coach Dennis Mitchell staying calm, executing, and running through the line,” Richardson said after the semifinal.

In Saturday’s heats, Richardson, who gave away 10 meters to her closest competitor at the start, won her heat in 13.815 seconds Saturday and Coleman his in 12.681.

There are more than 700 competitors in the Stawell race, including many of Australia’s top runners, in the event held about 235 kilometers (145 miles) west of Melbourne.

It has not been disclosed whether Richardson or Coleman have been paid appearance money to take part in the race. Last year Australian media reported that top Australian sprinter Gout Gout was paid 50,000 Australian dollars (35,000) to run at Stawell, where he was eliminated in the semifinals.

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Christian Coleman from the U.S. races in the semifinals of the men's Stawell Gift in Stawell, Australia, Monday, April 6, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)

Sha'Carri Richardson of the U.S., holds her trophy as she celebrates winning the women's Stawell Gift in Stawell, Australia, Monday, April 6, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)

Sha'Carri Richardson of the U.S., second left, celebrates winning the women's Stawell Gift in Stawell, Australia, Monday, April 6, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)

FILE - Christian Coleman of United States celebrates winning the men's 100m competition during the World Athletics Diamond League final 2025 athletics meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP, File)

FILE - Sha'carri Richardson, of the United States, competes in the women's 100-meter semifinals at the 2024 Summer Olympics, on Aug. 3, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)