Ukrainian firefighters return from France, where they helped fight forest fires

Firefighters from Ukraine's State Emergency Service have returned from France, where they spent nearly two weeks helping to contain large-scale forest fires.

Source: Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi announced this on Telegram, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to Vyhivskyi, this was the first mission by a Ukrainian team to assist an EU member state under the EU civil protection mechanism.

"The combined unit consisted of 70 firefighters and 15 pieces of specialised equipment," Vyhivskyi added.

He said that the Ukrainian firefighters patrolled forest areas, used UAVs to detect new outbreaks of fire and worked alongside their French counterparts to contain the flames.

These days involved not only joint work but also an exchange of experience that brought together firefighters from Ukraine, France, Slovakia and other countries.

"For Ukrainians, this mission was an opportunity to share their unique experience gained during the full-scale war," Vyhivskyi stressed.

He also noted that the work of the Ukrainian team received high praise from the French authorities and gratitude from local residents.

Since the beginning of 2026, the area of land devastated by forest fires in France has reached 100,000 hectares. This is a record figure for the 20 years since satellite monitoring of such areas began.

Background:

• As previously reported, the worst-hit area was the Gironde department in south-western France, where tens of thousands of hectares were destroyed by fire. Ukrainian firefighters were among those who travelled there to help their French counterparts.
• On 13 August, another major fire broke out in the Landes department, destroying a further 1,000 hectares.
• France has also reported record low water levels in small rivers this summer.

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