Ahead of Rescuer’s Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and presented them with state awards.
“Today, I want to thank all of you for making it possible for Ukraine to live – despite the attacks, despite Russia’s constant torment of Ukrainians. After every Russian strike, Ukrainians receive your help, real help. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine is always on the scene, and people always receive immediate emergency assistance and always receive support. This is always true heroism – often under the threat of double-tap Russian strikes,” the Head of State said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukrainian first responders put out fires, deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks, neutralize remnants of Russian munitions, and save lives every day.
“The State Emergency Service of Ukraine is a truly strong, courageous, and professional system that works, that is very well organized, and that guarantees Ukrainians reliable protection. There are 56,000 State Emergency Service professionals. More than 10,000 women work in the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. These are people who care about what happens to others, and all of this truly is extraordinary service to goodness and humanity,” the President said.
According to the Head of State, nearly 1,000 rescuers have received state awards since the beginning of the full-scale war. Six SESU employees have received the Orders of the Golden Star of the Hero of Ukraine, two of them posthumously. Those present observed a moment of silence in memory of every man and woman who gave their lives saving others.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented 20 SESU employees with the Orders “For Courage,” II and III class, of Princess Olga, III class, and of Danylo Halytskyi. The recipients included helicopter pilots who worked to mitigate the consequences of Russian attacks and evacuated the wounded, as well as rescuers, firefighters, bomb disposal technicians, and medics from the Donetsk, Kherson, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, and Kyiv regions, and Kyiv.
In the presence of the President, Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Vyhivskyi and SESU Head Andrii Danyk presented diplomas to the winners of the annual Hero-Rescuer of the Year national action. They were:
Volunteer medic with the Balu Charitable Foundation Artem Prasok. On March 18, in Sumy, he provided first aid and stopped the bleeding of a 16-year-old boy who suffered severe facial injuries in a Russian strike.
Driver Serhii Soratokin. On March 12, he rescued four teenagers who fell through the ice on a lake in Kharkiv. He pulled the children out of the icy water but then lost consciousness himself due to hypothermia.
Agricultural worker Volodymyr Usik. In July, during a fire at a house in his village, he first helped an elderly woman escape and then, together with police officers, rescued another woman and two children.
Driver Vitalii Yordovskyi and students Roman Plikhtiak and Yarema Knyshchuk. On December 28 last year, in Kolomyia, they rescued four children who had fallen through the ice on a body of water near residential buildings.
Lyceum student Davyd Bilousov. The 14-year-old boy saved his 17-year-old friend, who began drowning in a pond after suffering a cramp. Davyd rushed to his friend, grabbed him under the arms, and swam with him toward the shore. Other people nearby helped them once they reached shallow water.
Rescue driver with the SESU Main Mobile Rapid Response Rescue Center Leonid Ovcharov. In November last year, he rescued people from a neighboring building that caught fire as a result of a Russian strike. He carried two elderly women out of apartments engulfed in flames and helped several other people escape smoke-filled homes.
Firefighter and rescuer Dmytro Derevianko. While on vacation in the Mykolaiv region, he rescued two 11-year-old boys who had ended up in icy water.
https://www.president.gov.ua/news/
“Today, I want to thank all of you for making it possible for Ukraine to live – despite the attacks, despite Russia’s constant torment of Ukrainians. After every Russian strike, Ukrainians receive your help, real help. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine is always on the scene, and people always receive immediate emergency assistance and always receive support. This is always true heroism – often under the threat of double-tap Russian strikes,” the Head of State said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukrainian first responders put out fires, deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks, neutralize remnants of Russian munitions, and save lives every day.
“The State Emergency Service of Ukraine is a truly strong, courageous, and professional system that works, that is very well organized, and that guarantees Ukrainians reliable protection. There are 56,000 State Emergency Service professionals. More than 10,000 women work in the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. These are people who care about what happens to others, and all of this truly is extraordinary service to goodness and humanity,” the President said.
According to the Head of State, nearly 1,000 rescuers have received state awards since the beginning of the full-scale war. Six SESU employees have received the Orders of the Golden Star of the Hero of Ukraine, two of them posthumously. Those present observed a moment of silence in memory of every man and woman who gave their lives saving others.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented 20 SESU employees with the Orders “For Courage,” II and III class, of Princess Olga, III class, and of Danylo Halytskyi. The recipients included helicopter pilots who worked to mitigate the consequences of Russian attacks and evacuated the wounded, as well as rescuers, firefighters, bomb disposal technicians, and medics from the Donetsk, Kherson, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, and Kyiv regions, and Kyiv.
In the presence of the President, Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Vyhivskyi and SESU Head Andrii Danyk presented diplomas to the winners of the annual Hero-Rescuer of the Year national action. They were:
Volunteer medic with the Balu Charitable Foundation Artem Prasok. On March 18, in Sumy, he provided first aid and stopped the bleeding of a 16-year-old boy who suffered severe facial injuries in a Russian strike.
Driver Serhii Soratokin. On March 12, he rescued four teenagers who fell through the ice on a lake in Kharkiv. He pulled the children out of the icy water but then lost consciousness himself due to hypothermia.
Agricultural worker Volodymyr Usik. In July, during a fire at a house in his village, he first helped an elderly woman escape and then, together with police officers, rescued another woman and two children.
Driver Vitalii Yordovskyi and students Roman Plikhtiak and Yarema Knyshchuk. On December 28 last year, in Kolomyia, they rescued four children who had fallen through the ice on a body of water near residential buildings.
Lyceum student Davyd Bilousov. The 14-year-old boy saved his 17-year-old friend, who began drowning in a pond after suffering a cramp. Davyd rushed to his friend, grabbed him under the arms, and swam with him toward the shore. Other people nearby helped them once they reached shallow water.
Rescue driver with the SESU Main Mobile Rapid Response Rescue Center Leonid Ovcharov. In November last year, he rescued people from a neighboring building that caught fire as a result of a Russian strike. He carried two elderly women out of apartments engulfed in flames and helped several other people escape smoke-filled homes.
Firefighter and rescuer Dmytro Derevianko. While on vacation in the Mykolaiv region, he rescued two 11-year-old boys who had ended up in icy water.
https://www.president.gov.ua/news/