Russian strike kills firefighter on Kharkiv Oblast rescue call
Russian troops struck rescuers responding to a fire sparked by an earlier shelling in Kharkiv Oblast overnight into Thursday, killing one firefighter, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported.
The attack happened in Zelenyi Hai village in the Kupyansk district.
A 49-year-old commander of a detachment from the 43rd State Fire and Rescue Unit, Yuriy Chystikov, was killed. Five other rescuers were wounded.
The deceased rescuer is survived by a daughter.
"The entire large family of rescuers expresses sincere condolences to the family of the deceased," the State Emergency Service wrote. "His courage, fearlessness and self-sacrifice will forever remain in the memory of his brothers-in-arms. Yuriy Chystikov was an example of devotion to duty — a man for whom saving others was more important than his own life."