Saving the Capital

Warning: the following photo series contains images that may be harmful or traumatizing to some audiences. Unfortunately, these are the results of terrorist acts committed by the Russian Federation in its war against the Ukrainian people.

The occupiers keep terrorizing the civilian population: this morning, an enemy artillery shell hit a residential building in Obolon district of Kyiv. Two people died and three were hospitalized. 15 people were rescued at the site. Rescuers continue the search.

With the outbreak of the full-scale war, the operations of the State Emergency Service have somewhat changed. Kyiv rescuers now put out the fires and clear the debris to the sound of air raid alarms and with inner anxiety: many of them live in the nearby cities and are on duty in the capital while their relatives in Chernihiv, Bucha and Irpin sit out the shellings in the bomb shelters.

Pavlo Petrov has been working for the SES for about five years: before moving to the capital, he used to work at the press office of the local government in Severodonetsk. Together with the rescuers, Pavlo attends all the major emergency calls, and since February 24, he has not spent a night at home: in order not to miss anything, he settled at the rescue station. Pavlo recalls that when the TV tower was shelled, only a handful of rescuers were sent to address the call—there was a threat of recurrent fire. At some point, Pavlo had to abandon the camera around his neck for a fire hose.

When missiles hit a house on Lobanovsky Avenue, and further shelling was expected, Pavlo and a few journalists waited out the air raid at the nearby subway station. But it was not an option for the rescuers: floor by floor, they were checking the apartments looking for people.

Before the Russian invasion, the Kyiv SES used to have a favorite miracle story. When the Church of St. Nicholas was on fire, rescuers got stuck in a traffic jam and arrived two minutes overdue. Upon arrival, they discovered that a huge chandelier had fallen into the very center of the church where they were supposed to stand, so the delay saved many lives. But now every call becomes a miracle, when they manage to put out fires, save people and not come under fire from Russian missiles.