WORLD NEWS | Ukrainian firefighters on dangerous mission to save lives and homes

Kostiantinivka (Ukraine), March 11 (AP) Thick gray smoke billowed from the roof of a brick house, one of several houses hit by Russian shelling in the Kostiantinivka neighborhood, as firefighters arrived.

The city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province has been heavily bombed in recent days as Russia pushed to take nearby Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops have held out during a fierce battle that began last summer.

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Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces are attacking Kostiantinivka with cluster bombs and missiles. Several rounds of Russian shelling on Saturday killed one person and wounded at least three civilians, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

The attack on the city a day earlier wounded eight people and destroyed or damaged a dozen homes. The shelling has overwhelmed local firefighters, who are taking extreme risks to fight fires in buildings and cars, even as the shelling continues.

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Smoke and a strong smell of explosives filled the air as firefighters deployed their hoses. They smashed the windows of brick houses and sprayed water from the outside.

No one was inside, but a dog was trapped in a cage in the backyard. A firefighter opened the gate and the dog ran out amidst the smoke and debris.

The head of the department called on his team to stop what they were doing.

“Attention everyone. Air strike!” he shouted.

Firefighters took cover behind the house. They sat in silence as the explosion sounded at close range. A man lights a cigarette.

It was unclear whether the explosion was a new wave of attacks or a secondary explosion caused by fires in the area. Either way, the explosion comes too close, and the captain orders everyone back to the truck.

As they ran down the dirt road, another huge explosion shook the neighborhood, raising a cloud of smoke not far from the house they had just left. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)