DONETSK, May 13. /TASS/. As many as 30 Emergencies Ministry workers have been killed in Ukrainian attacks in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) since 2014, and another 275 have suffered injuries, Alexey Kostrubitsky, head of the ministry’s main regional department, told TASS.
"Thirty Emergencies Ministry workers have been killed in the DPR since 2014 and another 275 have been injured. Four employees were killed and 105 suffered injuries in 2024. <...> Rescue workers in Donbass are like troops on the frontline, only the battle is to save people’s lives. Rescuers are the first to arrive when people need help; they carry out mine clearance operations, clear the rubble, save people and extinguish fires after shelling attacks," Kostrubitsky pointed out.
He added that memorial plates had been installed at Emergencies Ministry units in honor of those killed, and their names had been added to remembrance books. The official noted that a memorial to "brave DPR rescuers" had been unveiled in front of the ministry’s main department in the city of Donetsk on February 22.
Emergencies Ministry personnel in Donbass regularly risk their lives amid attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces. Oftentimes, rescuers come under repeated strikes after they arrive to address the aftermath of attacks. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military carried out a drone attack on an asphalt plant in the city of Lugansk. According to a Russian Emergencies Ministry spokesperson, two ministry workers were killed while combating a fire at the facility and 15 more were injured.