Ukraine separatists crown 'most patriotic cat'

Image source, VKontake/Mir Luhanshchine

Image caption, Tima won his owner a 5,000 rouble prize
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Separatists in a breakaway region of Ukraine have held a competition to find the self-proclaimed republic's most patriotic cat.

The Mir Luhanshchine (Peace to Luhansk) civic movement controlled by the pro-Russian authorities of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) organised the contest which encouraged owners to dress their pet in the colours of the region's unofficial flag, Ukraine's .

A total of five cats made it to the final from around 100 entries, all pictured wearing clothes or accessories in Russian and pro-LPR colours. One of the contestants, Pushok from Luhansk, was pictured in tiny military fatigues in front of a poster of Vladimir Putin.

In the end, nearly 4,500 people voted for the five finalists on the group's , with Tima from the town of Stakhanov winning the 5,000 rouble ($80; 拢65) prize. A total of 1,584 Vkontakte users voted for Tima who was pictured lying on the LPR flag, wearing a hat, ribbon and a tie in patriotic colours.

"The idea came to us quickly," Tim's owner told , "The cat in a hat, tie, and - naturally - the symbols of our republic."

The pro-Moscow Luhansk People's Republic is a self-proclaimed state which claimed independence from Ukraine in May 2014 following a referendum. The legitimacy of the vote has not been recognised by most governments, and the authorities in Kiev refer to the region as "temporarily occupied".

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