KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian firefighters known for rescuing people from buildings hit by shelling in more than six months of war helped a small, furry survivor this weekend — a gray-and-white kitten.
The rescuers, wearing full firefighting gear, battled raging flames and smoke to pull the kitten out from under a metal chair in the rubble of a wooden hotel-restaurant complex hit by a rocket in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, the country's emergency services said Sunday on Facebook.
Video showed the firefighters petting and cuddling the feline as they carried it to safety. One used water from a firetruck to wipe down the kitten in his arms.
“We found a beauty,” one of the firefighters said as the kitten wiggled around in a colleague's arms. Another said, “Get this kitty some oxygen."
Ukraine's emergency services said the kitten's paw needed medical attention.
“Heroes of our time,” the emergency services proclaimed of the firefighters. "They protect, work, save, treat ... And we wish the cat a speedy recovery.”