Russian Double-Tap Strike Kills Ukrainian Firefighter as He Rushed to Save Lives in Kharkiv Region

Russian forces struck emergency responders in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, targeting firefighters who had arrived to extinguish a blaze caused by earlier shelling, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) reported on October 23.

The attack took place in the village of Zelenyi Hai in the Kupiansk district. A 49-year-old firefighter, Yuriy Chystikov, commander of the 43rd State Fire and Rescue Unit, was killed in the strike. Five of his colleagues were injured. Chystikov leaves behind a daughter.

“The entire rescue service family extends its sincere condolences to the family of the fallen hero. His courage, fearlessness, and self-sacrifice will forever remain in our memory. Yuriy Chystikov was an example of duty and devotion—a man for whom saving others meant more than his own life,” the SES said in a statement.

Earlier, Russian forces carried out two consecutive drone strikes on a railway station in the city of Shostka, Sumy region, targeting passenger trains and civilians during an evacuation.

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