As residents punch and shove each other in supermarkets, frantically queue at ATMs and line up at petrol stations, Gqeberha wildlife rescuer Lionel de Lange says his bags are packed and his passport ready for the first opportunity to catch a flight back home.

De Lange, who flew to Ukraine on Monday as part of a relocation project for a bear named Masha, now finds himself amid the tense standoff between Ukraine and Russia — with his relocation project temporarily placed on hold...