KIEV (AFP) - A zoo in Ukraine made a plea for funds to feed its animals on Friday, saying they had no part in the political upheaval in the country and would start dying without aid.

"Our animals are not fighting for power, they do not share anyone's political views, they just want to live," the zoo in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine said on its website.

The former Soviet state has been racked over the past months by the worst political and security crisis in its history, which has pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy.

"Along with the whole country, our zoo is living through difficult and terrifying times," said the zoo, which was set up in what is Ukraine's second-largest city in the 1890s and has survived both world wars.

"Without emergency measures, our completely innocent animals will start dying next week," it said, pleading with local residents to visit the zoo or donate funds.