He was found under rubble by colleagues: Ukrainian emergency worker killed in Russian strike on Donetsk Oblast

Anna Kovalenko - 17 October, 17:41

Anatolii had worked for the State Emergency Service for over 16 years. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Facebook

Anatolii Hopka, a 41-year-old emergency worker with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU), has been killed in a Russian airstrike on an apartment building in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast.

Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU)

Details: Hopka's body was found under the rubble by his colleagues.

Quote from the SES: "Emergency workers hoped until the very end that he could be saved [...] This is an irreparable loss for the entire family of Donetsk Oblast rescue workers. We express our sincere condolences to the family, friends and everyone who knew Anatolii. We share your pain and bow our heads in sorrow."

Details: Hopka had served in the SESU for over 16 years and held the position of head of the energy and heat generation service. Over the years, he had ensured the safety of people and the preparedness of rescue units to carry out their tasks.

"His life was defined by a strong sense of responsibility and unwavering dedication to his work," Hopka's colleagues added.

Background:

On the night of 16-17 October, the Russians struck a residential area in Sloviansk with a high-explosive aerial bomb. The attack damaged eight multi-storey buildings, two of which were partially destroyed.
Over the past 24 hours and in the morning, 16 people were injured in the city, including a 17-year-old girl.
On the afternoon of 12 October, the Russians targeted the city with Smerch multiple-launch rocket systems. The attack damaged and destroyed at least 44 houses in a residential area. A 77-year-old woman was injured.
On 5 February, we reported on Vitalii Kachuro, a firefighter who was severely injured in a Russian double-tap strike on a residential building in Kyiv on 9 January. He was among the emergency workers who arrived at the scene after the initial strike. A father of three, Kachuro suffered multiple serious injuries, including an open spinal injury, and survived two cardiac arrests and a coma. Nearly a month after the attack, he had begun responding to the voices of family members, although his condition remained critical.

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