Ukraine's rescuers have a powerful new firefighting truck. The vehicle fleet of Ukraine's State Emergency Service (SES) gained a Rosenbauer Panther 8×8 airport firefighting vehicle, which will soon enter service and help rescuers carry out the most difficult tasks, the SES announced.
According to the UN, since the start of Russia's full-scale war, at least 16,141 civilians, including 803 children, have been confirmed killed, while 48,613 people, including 2,960 children, have been injured, UkrInform has reported.
The Rosenbauer Panther is a heavy airport crash-and-rescue vehicle, among the most capable firefighting machines, built to reach large fires quickly and deliver water and foam at high volume.
Donation came from Luxembourg
Its transfer to Ukraine was made possible by the charitable foundation "Ukrainian Firefighters", the company North Defence, and the Ministry of Defense of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which systematically support Ukrainian emergency workers with equipment, gear, and training.
It is one more piece of European backing for the rescuers who work on the aftermath of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities.
During the handover, Deputy Head of the SES Roman Prymush thanked the partners for their trust and constant, systematic support, saying that this help strengthens the service's ability to save lives every day.
The rescuers who receive it work under fire
The equipment matters because of what Ukraine's emergency service now does. Beyond ordinary fires and accidents, SES crews are the ones who arrive at the sites of Russian missile and drone strikes, pulling people from collapsed buildings and fighting the fires that follow, often under the threat of a second strike aimed at the responders.
A heavy firefighting vehicle built for airport-scale fires adds capacity for exactly the large blazes that strike fuel depots, warehouses, and infrastructure. The Panther joins a steady flow of European donations of vehicles and equipment to Ukraine's rescue services.
