Firefighters in Limerick have shared a heartfelt tribute to their fellow emergency service workers in Ukraine amid the conflict with Russia.
It comes as Russian forces risked causing a ‘ nuclear apocalypse ’ by attacking a Ukrainian power plant.
Limerick Fire and Rescue commended firefighters in Ukraine over their efforts amid the conflict in their country.
“There’s bravery, and then there’s Ukrainian Firefighters,” they said.
The emergency service group posted the powerful message to their Facebook page, alongside images of their Ukrainian counterparts in action.
“Despite the chaos around them and the risks to themselves, they are continuing to provide a fire and rescue service to the citizens of Ukraine,” the post continued.
“They are very much in our thoughts, and we have nothing but admiration for their courage and resilience.”
Other Facebook users agreed with the sentiment, with a number of them calling the firefighters “superheroes”.
“Bravery at its best. Heroes. God bless them all. Keep them safe for their families,” one user commented.
It comes as a fire broke out at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine.
The plant, which is Europe’s largest, was attacked by Russian forces in a move that has been condemned by world leaders.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney was among those to comment, calling it “utterly reckless”.
“Russia’s military activity in the area must cease immediately.
“This is a grave threat to the European continent,” he posted on Twitter this morning.
The head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said there was no release of radiation at the plant following the attack.
The plant’s fire has also been extinguished.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack could have caused destruction equal to “six Chernobyls”.
Addressing the nation via TV on Friday morning, he said: "People of Ukraine! We survived the night that could have stopped the course of history - history of Ukraine, history of Europe."
Zelenskyy said Russia knew what it was doing when it aimed shells directly at the station and called it an act of "terror on an unheard-of level".
