Under the escalating barrage of Russian drones and missiles, Ukraine’s hard-pressed lifesavers are having to think beyond the curve.
Robots are now being used to enter the most dangerous scenes, spraying jets of water onto fires and shunting destroyed cars out of the way.
The cutting-edge technology is being deployed as the country is targeted by hundreds of Shahed-type drone strikes on a daily basis — with the human firefighters being deliberately targeted.
Kevin Royle, a veteran Canadian firefighter supporting the emergency responders, said the European robotics providers are ‘amazed’ by the way the pioneering technology is being used.
Speaking from Kyiv, he also gave a stark insight into the toll of the war on the country’s life-savers, saying it is ‘numbing and heart-wrenching’ when he is confronted with their losses.
Royle is the project director of Firefighter Aid Ukraine, which provides a wide range of support, equipment and training to the country’s first responders, also including de-miners.
Royle, also a fire investigator, has witnessed first-hand the need for technology to replace humans amid the destruction.
‘The systems are incredible, they are very effective,’ he said.
‘The State Emergency Service of Ukraine I believe have the only unit in the world whose purpose is to research, utilise and create specific personnel whose role is in robotics.
‘The equipment has come from European suppliers for the Ukrainians to use and provide feedback on.
‘They are going into areas you wouldn’t want to send humans into.
The robots saving lives in Ukraine
Innovative robotic systems saving lives in Ukraine include the firefighting system Magirus Wolf R1. The tactical response unit is equipped with specialist camera systems, can work in rough terrain and has semi-autonomous functions. It can throw water up to 65 metres and foam up to 45 metres.
Also operating in Ukraine is the Hecthor multifunctional tracked robot. The unit has manual, semi-autonomous and fully autonomous operation modes and an advanced AI navigation system. It can be used for a variety of tasks, including firefighting.
Along with systems supplied by European companies, Ukraine has also a domestically produced firefighting robot.
Ihor Hetalo, head of the unmanned systems and robotics department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, said the robots are being used for firefighting, evacuating damaged vehicles at missile strike sites, neutralizing explosive devices and logistics at emergency scenes
‘Robots are used in fires that pose significant risks to rescuers, such as at oil depots and where there are ongoing detonations or the threat of building collapse,’ he explained. ‘The evacuation robot is used in incidents with large amounts of debris and destroyed vehicles.
‘This robot allows clearing access routes for emergency vehicles to reach the site of the incident. Logistics robots enable the delivery of necessary equipment at emergency sites without human involvement or the need for additional vehicles.’
‘The manufacturers are saying they can’t believe what the Ukrainians are capable of doing and the data and the innovation coming out of it. At least something good has come out of all the loss of life and the destruction.’
Vladimir Putin’s bombardment spilled over the border overnight Monday-Tuesday, with drones entering Polish airspace and causing the country and Nato to scramble their air defences.
On that night alone, Russia launched 415 Shahed-type strike uncrewed aerial vehicles and 42 cruise missiles at Ukraine, with the majority being eliminated by the defenders.
When the objects do get through, the responders are left to work in highly dangerous environments, with the threat of a ‘double tap’ where a second Russian attack targets emergency personnel at a scene.
‘It’s real,’ Royle said of his latest trip to Kyiv as part of a long-standing partnership between his NGO and the emergency service.
‘We have had students take part in our programmes who are unfortunately no longer with us, their lives have been lost.
‘We’ve watched from our hotels as rockets have shattered the air, we’ve watched missile defence systems do their job.
‘Four or 500 metres from where we were conducting training a missile landed and put a crater in the middle of the street.
‘It’s numbing and heart-wrenching at the same time, but it’s what is fuelling us to keep doing what we do.
‘An individual we just met who is now in charge of the robotics was involved in a double tap early in the war.
‘It injured him and killed his wife, who was in the State Emergency Service as well.
‘We also hear stories about how it takes multiple days to put out fires that should be mitigated in hours because responders have to retreat from incoming drones, or even take cover overnight because they could be exposed or even killed if they come out of hiding.
‘While the fire’s burning their trucks are destroyed.
‘It’s the feeling of being hunted — it has a psychological toll even if it doesn’t actually take your life.’
Royle, a 17-year veteran with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, also gave an insight into the unsung work of emergency responders after a suspected Russian drone hit the Chernobyl confinement structure on February 14.
‘That could have been such a catastrophe but those men and women, the high-angle rope rescue, and the robotics and drones really shone,’ he said.
‘They prevented a world catastrophic event.’
Royle told Metro that the fire had ‘burrowed’ through insulation above the reactor — scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986.
‘The firefighters used thermal imaging from drones and climbed on the shelter in terrible freezing weather to put that fire out,’ he said.
‘Had the fire continued and compromised that sarcophagus to the point where it had been destroyed, the radiation would have been put into the groundwater and made it into the Dnipro River and the Black Sea, where eventually the currents would have taken it all over the globe.’
Firefighter Aid was the first Canadian NGO to drive life-saving equipment into Ukraine after the war broke out three years ago.
The non-profit organisation continues to supply kit, including some channelled in from the UK, and a wide range of training, including in traumatic casualty care, water rescues and canine search and rescue.
Czech-based Cyber Drone Solutions and sister company ProLab Engineering, and German firefighting technology provider Magirus, are among the suppliers of the robotics.
David Kubiš, of Cyber Drone Solutions, said: ‘In our opinion, firefighters are often overlooked and, when they are not, they often get gear which they do not want. We have had feedback from Kharkiv that our unmanned ground vehicle, the Hecthor, is cheap, reliable and made for action.
‘The multifunctional tracked robot can transport injured individuals on stretchers or in a box from inaccessible areas, reducing risk and saving lives. We want to see such technology used more widely across Ukraine and are working with our partners to make this happen.’
The UK government announced this week that a cutting-edge interceptor drone will be mass-produced domestically and deployed to Ukraine to defend against the Russian aerial attacks.
The equipment is being jointly developed by the allies with the aim of producing thousands of units per month to destroy drones and missiles before they reach their targets.
The technology is cheaper than regular air defence missiles and is proving highly effective in countering the waves of Russian one-way attack drones, according to the UK government.
Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact josh.layton@metro.co.uk
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