SES honors on their professional day 130 rescuers killed in war
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During the full-scale war, 130 Ukrainian rescue workers were killed (Photo: SES / YouTube / Screenshot)
Ukraine marks Rescuer's Day on Sept. 17. On this professional holiday, employees of the State Emergency Service remembered 130 colleagues who were killed during the full-scale war, according to the agency’s press service.
"In these archival family photos, our rescuers are still simply living and enjoying every day," the SES said.
“Hugging and kissing their loved ones — mothers, wives, husbands, children. Joking. Laughing. Loving. Dreaming. They had plans for the future. Wishes they hoped to fulfill. A cozy home where someone was always waiting for them after a difficult shift. Every day, they risked their own lives to give others a chance to live.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated rescuers on their professional holiday. He said the State Emergency Service is a strong, brave and professional system that operates efficiently, is well-organized and guarantees Ukrainians reliable protection.
"56,000 professionals, including more than 10,000 women – these are people who care about what happens to others, and all of this truly is extraordinary service to goodness and humanity," the head of state said.
Zelenskyy added that since the start of the full-scale war, nearly 1,000 rescuers have been honored with Ukrainian state awards, six have received the Hero of Ukraine Gold Star, two of them posthumously.
Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff and former spymaster Kyrylo Budanov also congratulated rescuers on their professional holiday.
"When we hear 'response to the fallout from attacks' in the news every day, it sounds dry and routine," he wrote.
“But behind those words are hours of grueling work at the sites of destruction, clearing wrecked buildings and searching for people under tons of concrete. SES rescuers are among the first to arrive at strike sites and work until they've cleared the rubble down to the last brick. This is the work that keeps our cities alive despite Russia's efforts to destroy us.”
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