Russian conductor kills passenger’s cat after throwing it from moving train in Kirov

A cat that escaped from its cage while travelling on a train in Russia has died after the conductor found it and threw it off the moving vehicle as it neared western city Kirov.

State-owned rail operator RZD has apologised after Twix, the ginger and white cat, was tossed from the carriage by a female member of staff on January 11.

Twix was later found to have died in -30C temperatures.

The woman is thought to have mistaken it for a stray. But Twix was actually the loved cat of its owners and was travelling with them by rail, when it left its container.

Local media reported that the owners did not realise what had happened and organised a search party to find the pet.

They used a Telegram channel to coordinate a search party of hundreds of volunteers and they later found the cat’s body after looking in the freezing conditions.

RZD said in a statement: "We sincerely regret that the cat Twix died.”

More than 300,000 people have signed a petition calling for the train conductor to lose her job.

A separate petition has been signed by more than 100,000 people calling for the train conductor to face criminal charges, although local authorities have not yet opened a case.

On Saturday, a Russian jet with six people on board crashed in Afghanistan.

The plane went down in a mountainous area near Zebak district in Badakhshan province, regional spokesman Zabihullah Amiri said on Sunday.

Two Russian citizens were passengers on-board, it has been reported.

Elsewhere, Downing Street has said Britain and Germany have united in calling for Ukraine's allies to send weapons to Kyiv.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is working "very intensively" to restore consumer air travel after commercial flights were suspended following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, a top official has said.