Svitlana Vodolaha, Head of the Communications Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine

When the first rescue teams arrive at the scene of an attack, communications specialists from the State Emergency Service (SES) join them. For the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, communication during a war of aggression is no longer an ‘afterthought’. It has become an integral part of rescue operations and the state’s security policy. With an approval rating of 76.6 per cent, the SES ranks second among all state institutions after the army (according to a survey by the Razumkov Centre in September 2025). This rating was not achieved through press releases. It is the price of being present under fire.

The full-scale invasion has forced the State Emergency Service’s communications team to enter wartime mode. While fires in residential areas, domestic gas explosions and seasonal fires in ecosystems previously dominated, since February 2022 there have been constant rocket and drone strikes, guided aerial bombs, artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. Alongside rescuers, communications units have become an integral part of mobile operational groups, providing round-the-clock support for search and rescue operations, debris clearance, evacuations, and working under fire.

The scale of the effort is impressive. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, rescuers have made over 238,000 trips to deal with the aftermath of shelling. They have rescued over 6,560 people, extinguished over 29,000 fires and delivered tens of thousands of tonnes of food and water. They have also provided emergency energy supplies to thousands of facilities. These are not just statistics. They provide the context in which the word ‘communication’ takes on its literal meaning of ‘connecting life with life’.

‘Do no harm’: protocols against enemy intelligence

The enemy constantly monitors official resources. Any unnecessary detail – such as an address or the name of a facility – could be used to plan a repeat strike. Therefore, the SES has introduced clear algorithms, including coordination of messages with military units, established time windows for publication and standards for generalised wording (‘administrative building’, ‘in one of the city districts’). Photo and video information hygiene measures have also been introduced, such as close-ups, retouching of sensitive frames and the absence of identifiers. Of course, this sometimes comes at the expense of efficiency. However, it directly saves the lives of rescuers and those working at sites affected by enemy strikes.

Countering enemy disinformation and fake news

War is also fought on the information front. For example, in July 2024, American blogger Jackson Hinkle circulated fake news claiming that photos of the SES in the rubble of the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital had been staged, and accusing the Ukrainian side of ‘planting children’s toys’. The SES team working at the site of the attack swiftly countered these claims by releasing footage and photos showing the sequence of events, technical metadata of the materials used, and testimonies from rescuers, medical staff, and patients. They also presented synchronised accounts from international journalists who were present at the location. Our presence on the ground, thorough verification processes and rapid responses act as a ‘shield’ against information attacks designed to cause panic and despair. The SES responded promptly to ten disinformation attacks, mainly concerning fake evacuations and other deliberate misinformation designed to cast doubt on the real consequences of Russian strikes and the actions of rescuers.

Safety education: from ‘safety classes’ to mobile platforms

Children are our priority audience. Supported by donors and partners, we have launched a network of 4,113 ‘safety classes’ in schools and 15 mobile classes across 10 regions and the city of Kyiv. Teachers receive methodological kits before the holidays, and there is a family series called ‘How to act in emergency situations’ on the Diya.Osvita platform. A web portal called ‘101: Safety space for children, parents and educators’ is also in preparation. Between 2024 and 2025, 1.4 million children and 1 million adults received safety information during joint educational sessions. Large-scale informational materials are being developed and implemented. This work has received professional recognition in the form of Effie Awards Ukraine: the State Emergency Service’s safety education projects and mine safety campaigns won bronze and silver in 2023 and silver in 2024. In other words, the effectiveness of our communication strategy has been confirmed by both coverage and independent expertise.

International partnership: showing results, not just thanking partners

Last year alone, the SES received around 600 vehicles from donors. It is important for partners not only to ‘transfer’ aid, but also to witness its use, particularly in frontline regions. This is why the SES communications team has introduced special vehicle branding (stickers indicating the donor country/organisation) – to enable vehicles to be quickly identified in photos, reports, and video thank-you messages. The separate video project ‘Aid that Saves Lives’ (with 10 episodes already released) demonstrates the real impact of international support, motivating donors to continue and expand their cooperation.

More broadly, international media constitutes a distinct field of work. In 2024 and 2025 alone, over 500 requests from foreign media were processed. This has helped to raise awareness of the war and garner support for Ukraine around the world.

Promoting the image of rescuers: stories that sustain the system

‘Heroes without weapons’ and ‘Brave enough to save lives’ are not advertising slogans, but collective definitions created by society. The SES deliberately reinforces and articulates this image through documentaries (Form of Fire, Battle for Light, On the Line of Fire), the series Life-Saving Vehicles (which has now evolved into stories about people), and special projects for regional TV and educational institutions. The effect is twofold: external support and internal motivation for personnel who recognise themselves in these stories.

Modern ambassadors: from influencers to symbols of hope

To reach millions of people, you need trusted voices. The SES systematically engages with influencers, such as musicians, cultural figures and opinion leaders. However, the most effective ambassador for the service is not a celebrity with millions of followers.

March 2022: Part of the territory is occupied and society is gripped by fear and confusion. It was at this time that Patron, a Jack Russell terrier belonging to deminers from Chernihiv, appeared in the information space. Small, energetic and fearless, he helped to search for mines and instantly went viral. The SES quickly realised that these were not just ‘cute’ images, but a valuable safety communication tool. Patron’s image transformed complex mine safety rules into simple, memorable messages for children and adults, and he also became a symbol of hope and confidence in victory.

The SES’s experience of war has proven that communication is not merely a ‘cover’ for actions, but a combat module in itself. To save lives, maintain trust and counteract misinformation, the SES requires a strategic, systematic approach to communicating with different audiences, such as citizens, children, educators, local authorities, the media, donors, and international institutions. This is why work on the SES Communication Strategy until 2030, a document that will strengthen the Service’s institutional capacity, is continuing.

This material was prepared as part of the initiative ‘Development of a Strategy for the Development of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine until 2030’, which is being implemented by the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and financial support from the Government of Denmark.

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