Warning! Some of the pictures are distressing! Warning!

A lion cub in Russia had its legs deliberately broken so it could not run away from tourists.

A distressing video of the lion’s condition is viral on social media right now and it shows how bad the lion’s condition got.

In the video, you could see what the animal looked live before it went through a surgery and the painful process of learning how to walk again.

The lion, who is now named Simba, was just a couple of weeks old when he was taken away from his mother.

He was later used as a photo opportunity on beaches in Russia so tourists could take selfies with the poor little one.

After the incident went viral on social media, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, was shocked that he ordered a criminal probe into what happened.

The legs of the lion were broken so he could not run away.

It is also reported that the lion was tortured and beaten by the people that were taking care of him.

Authorities found the poor little lion with an injured spine and on the verge of death, as he was dumped in a cold barn in Dagestan, a region in Russia.

Yulia Ageeva, the person that led the rescue mission of Simba, said:

He was practically not fed, and for some reason in the frost water was constantly poured over him. This was a real hell.

Luckily, rescuers got to save Simba from the cruelty and was rushed to Karen Dallakyan, a specialist vet, for treatment.

Dallakyan, who is from Chelyabinks, Russia, said that Simba had suffered an ocean of pain from humans.

The vet added:

Evil photographers break bones like this so that wild predator cannot escape and behave calmly for pictures [with tourists].

Dallakyan operated on Simba, who had also suffered pressure sores, intestinal obstructions, and atrophy of muscles of the back limbs.

Simba is now capable of walking again, however, his legs are deformed.

Dallakyan had an opportunity to talk with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, about what Simba had been through in a lockdown video conference with ecologists.

Dallakyan said:

We do not see any criminal case opened.

Putin replied:

Thank you. I wrote down what you said.

President Putin said that law enforcement will be acting against the people that were involved in the incident.

A criminal investigation is now underway, confirmed Dallakyan.

The photographer that worked with Simba, whose identity was not shared with the public, last year denied that they had tortured the animal.

The photographer also said that they passed the cub on to new owners.