In any emergency, rescue workers and firefighters are the first to arrive, ready to help, protect and save lives, despite any challenges. They are heroes in every country. When their nation is at war, their daily work takes a whole new level: saving lives where death and destruction often leave nothing behind.
This is the harsh reality for the personnel of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU). For over two and a half years, they have been heroically fighting the flames of the bloodiest war in Europe since the Second World War. They extinguish fires from aerial attacks, rescue people buried under concrete rubble, or clear streets, fields and children's bedrooms of mines and booby traps. Often at the cost of their own lives.
Given the critical importance of their work in addressing the aftermath of Russia’s attacks, emergency teams across Ukraine are among the main recipients of assistance coming into the country through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The machinery and protective equipment provided both by Member States and from the strategic stockpiles enhance the rescuers’ ability to respond to the challenges of war and to save lives, even in situations where hope often seems almost lost.
