MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Mariupol’s Zoo will hand over two tiger cubs born after the city’s liberation from Ukrainian troops to the St. Petersburg Zoo, Denis Pushilin, acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on Tuesday.

"We would like to give the two tiger cubs born in the liberated Mariupol as a gift," he said addressing St. Petersburg governor, Alexander Beglov, via a video link .

The DPR head said he is sure that the tiger cubs will be given the care and attention they need at the St. Petersburg Zoo.

He noted that Mariupol residents had managed to preserve the zoo and its inhabitants during combat operations in 2022, as did residents of Leningrad during the siege of that city during the Great Patriotic War (the Eastern Front during WWII where the former Soviet Union fought against Nazi Germany - TASS).