'Goat of Kyiv' trips Russian boobytrap, injures 40 waiting soldiers

The days of the famed Ghost of Kyiv may be behind Russia's military. But last week the Kremlin's invading forces faced a new threat. 

More than 40 Russian soldiers were injured when a wayward goat set off grenades they set up to defend a captured hospital, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine said Monday said the Russian soldiers had occupied a hospital in the village Kinski Rozdory in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a province on the Black Sea under partial Russian control.

The Russian forces set up a “circular defense” by placing tripwires connected to grenades around the building’s perimeter.

But a goat that escaped a nearby farm wandered into the boobytraps and set off a chain reaction of explosions, claims the agency.

“As a result of the goat’s ‘chaotic’ movements, the animal ‘disposed of’ several grenades,” the Defense Intelligence wrote.

“As a result of a chain reaction, several (Russians) sustained injuries of varying degrees of severity.”

The fate of the goat is unknown but social media has hailed him as the “Goat of Kyiv,” a reference to the legendary Ukrainian fighter pilot credited with shooting down six Russian planes on the first day of the invasion.

At least 60% of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast is under Russian occupation, reports The Telegraph. Invading forces have ramped up attacks in the province after taking the major eastern cities of Mariupol and Kherson.

This is not the first time an animal has made headlines for their part in the Ukrainian resistance to Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Patron, a Jack Russell terrier trained to sniff out mines, and his handler was awarded a medal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in May for his work.

The dog has been credited with detecting more than 200 explosives since the start of the war. He has become a minor celebrity and symbol of the resistance.