Under fire and on mined roads. How first responders save civilians and their pets near the front

"Saving lives, treating the wounded, and conducting evacuations were our top priorities in Toretsk. With so many injured, this became our primary focus during the intense hostilities near our city," says Oleksandr Storiev, the First Deputy Head of the Main Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) in the Chernihiv Region. Having started as a first responder in 2007, Oleksandr has spent years working in his native Donetsk region.

Oleksandr once lived with his family in Bakhmut, a city with a population of over 70,000 before Russia’s full-scale invasion. When Russia forced his nearest and dearest to leave everything behind in search of safety elsewhere in Ukraine, he chose to stay in the eastern part of the country and dedicate most of his time to rescue operations in Toretsk, a satellite city of Donetsk. The distance between the two cities is slightly more than 40 km.

During the war, first responders play a vital role in supporting civilians who live near the frontline. These dedicated professionals, often under intense pressure and facing real danger, save lives and provide emergency medical care to people.