Voices of Resilience: Firefighters of Kherson Share Their Story Amidst the War

We have reached out to individuals across Ukraine to share their firsthand stories, providing a raw and honest perspective on life during the war.

Over the coming days, we will post stories from firefighters facing immense challenges daily, teachers who continue to educate despite the turmoil, citizens of Kyiv who lived through the city’s early days of invasion, and people forced to leave their homes near the frontline to protect their families.

Through these firsthand stories, we hope to highlight the importance of solidarity and support. Additionally, we hope to raise awareness and donations for our fundraiser, which aims to purchase generators for vulnerable communities in Ukraine near frontline.

Today, we share the firsthand story of firefighters from Kherson, a frontline region in Ukraine.

We asked them about their experiences and service during the war, and this is what they told us.Please read the full story below and make a donation to our fundraiser here https://gofund.me/4362a575

Since the full-scale invasion by Russian Federation forces, we in the Kherson region have endured countless hardships. It all started with daily shelling, occupation, persecution, and torture of our local population, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis. We witnessed the shelling of vehicle convoys and people trying to evacuate.

As the Armed Forces of Ukraine advanced and swiftly liberated the temporarily occupied territories, the enemy resorted to terrorism, including the detonation of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam—the largest in the Dnipro cascade—resulting in the flooding of extensive areas.

Today, Kherson region stands among the areas with the most damaged settlements. Every day, we face devastating mortar, artillery, tank, and aerial bomb attacks. According to military reports, the average number of shells of various calibers and types fired at the de-occupied part of Kherson region ranges from 500 to 700 per day—an increase of about threefold compared to 2023. Moreover, the enemy deliberately targets and destroys our critical infrastructure, life-supporting facilities, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities (hospitals, maternity wards), as well as logistics and humanitarian centers, using strike drones to attack multi-storey and private homes.

Amid all this, our news feeds are filled with reports of explosions and injuries affecting both our local population and the bomb disposal units from all services due to encounters with explosive objects. Preliminary estimates suggest it will take at least 10 years to clear areas contaminated by these explosive hazards.

In these exhausting conditions—under constant shelling— our units, along with local and volunteer fire brigades, have been tirelessly fulfilling our duties for over a year. Our firefighters work around the clock to assist the population, address the aftermath of fires, building collapses, and infrastructure damage, conduct search and rescue operations, free victims trapped under rubble, and handle other urgent tasks related to emergencies and combat-related events.

Since the beginning of 2024, our units have extinguished 1,079 fires, 815 of which were caused by enemy shelling—over 70% of all fires. We’ve responded to 1,336 emergency calls and 376 calls for assistance. During fire extinguishing and debris removal, we’ve rescued 23 people, including 3 children.

While rescuing people under relentless shelling, firefighters constantly risk their own lives. From 2022 to 2024, 54 firefighters have been affected by shelling, including 8 who were killed and 46 who were injured. In 2024 alone, 11 of us sustained injuries. Additionally, 15 pieces of fire and rescue equipment have been damaged, with 7 of these occurring in 2024.

We may now face a new challenge—an energy crisis. For example, during the winter of 2022-2023, our country’s energy facilities were subjected to systematic missile attacks, leaving entire neighborhoods, and in some cases whole cities, without power for extended periods. We also faced a nearly month-long lack of communications (energy, gas, water, and heating supply) in de-occupied Kherson. These were incredibly difficult conditions and challenges for us!

Despite everything, these conditions build our willpower, and once again Kherson demonstrates its resilience and drive for victory, even amid such a difficult and tense situation in the region.