68 Ukrainian rescuers killed, five taken captive over Russian invasion

"To date, 68 rescuers were killed and 201 rescuers were injured," Serhiy Kruk, Head of the State Emergency Service, said during the national news telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He emphasized that the attacks on the State Emergency Service units have become very frequent lately.

The reason for that is unclear, he noted.

"We fall under the protection of the Geneva Conventions. We are not the units that take part in combat operations, have weapons, etc. And we hoped that the rescuers would not be killed, would not be shot, and captured. But in the first days of the war, we realized that the Russian aggressor despises international norms and rules," Kruk noted.

"During evacuations in Irpin and Bucha – because we did that together with the police – we were taken captive, our equipment was taken away. During the evacuation from Mariupol, in the territory of Zaporizhzhia region, [rescuers] were also deprived of equipment, taken captive, equipment was shot. As of today, we have five rescuers in captivity," the Head of the State Emergency Service said.