India, Aug. 9 -- Taras, a lion rescued from war-torn Ukraine as a four-month-old cub, is facing a new fight for survival after being diagnosed with a rare and potentially fatal fungal disease at a sanctuary in Minnesota.

Taras was found inside a duffel bag at a railway station in Odesa, Ukraine. He and his sisters, Lesya and Stefania, were later evacuated and brought to the US in November 2022 by the Wildcat Sanctuary, in partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The cubs had first been taken from Kyiv to Poland by an American veterinarian, a journey that took around 36 hours, as Russian missile and drone attacks continued in Ukraine.

Now four years old, Taras had been an energetic member of the Ukrainian lion ...