Terrifying moment pack of stray dogs savage girl, nine, after she tried to befriend them in Russian city: Child manages to walk away after she is saved by her winter clothes

A shocking video shows the terrifying moment a pack of stray dogs attacked and seriously injured a nine-year-old girl in a Russian city.

The schoolgirl had tried to befriend the freezing animals in the snow, but they suddenly attacked her in the northern city of Novy Urengoy.

The child, named Dasha, tried to pull away from the animals but was overwhelmed and forced to the ground as the dogs sank their teeth into her.

She was bitten by the three of the four large beasts for almost a minute, at one point almost standing up only to be pulled back down.

One attacked her head, and the other two bit her arms, legs and body.

The fourth dog barked but did not bite her.

A passing male pedestrian eventually came to the girl's aid and the animals fled.

He helped her up and another local came to help.

The girl is now in hospital with 'several serious injuries', according to reports.

Photos show wounds on her head and limbs.

The child was saved by the thick winter clothes she wore in the minus 22 degrees Celsius cold, which kept the bites from getting much worse, reports said.

According to reports, the dogs had not been vaccinated against rabies.

The schoolgirl (seen below left) tried to make friends with the freezing animals in the snow, but they suddenly attacked her in the north of Novy Urengoy

The child named Dasha tried to back away but was overwhelmed and forced to the ground as the dogs sank their teeth into her

The child was saved by the thick winter clothes she wore in the cold of minus 22 degrees Celsius, which prevented the bites from getting much worse

She is now 'deeply traumatised', crying and 'under severe stress', it was reported today. “Due to the cuts left by the dogs on the child's calves and head, her fever has not subsided,” news channel 112 reported.

A growing number of stray dogs are plaguing Russian towns and cities as money to control them and fund Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine is cut.

Natalia Alekseenko, a public animal care inspector in Novy Urengoy, said parents should prevent their children from getting close to stray animals.

“It's a shame for this child because she went to the dogs with good intentions,” she said. 'It's a shame her parents didn't explain to her that it wasn't a good idea to do this, especially with a pack of dogs.

'You cannot teach children to be charitable, neither to people nor to dogs, nor to anyone else. It's dangerous. The first thing is to switch on your brain.'

The dogs were captured and taken to a shelter. It was not immediately clear what will happen to them.

A passing male pedestrian (seen on the left) eventually came to the girl's aid and the animals fled

Mayor Andrei Voronov said he is increasing the number of dog patrols to ensure safety in Novy Urengoy (photo, file photo)

Mayor Andrei Voronov said he is increasing the number of dog patrols to ensure safety in Novy Urengoy.

“The girl is now in a stable condition in hospital,” he said.

'She has injuries that do not threaten her life. Now the entire platoon has been captured. Thanks to the passers-by, they paid attention and helped the girl.'

Residents of several cities have recently complained about the rising number of attacks by stray dogs.