Ex-head of DSNS Kharkiv, General Volobuyev, rescued children from a kindergarten attacked by Russia
Executive summary
Multiple Ukrainian and international outlets report that a Kharkiv kindergarten was hit in a wide Russian drone strike on 22–23 October 2025 and that emergency workers evacuated children; contemporaneous reports name Oleksandr Volobuev (identified as a retired or former State Emergency Service leader in Kharkiv) among those helping and say dozens of children were taken out — BBC reports 48 children evacuated and other outlets describe evacuations amid blaze and wounded civilians [1] [2] [3].
1. What the reporting actually says about Volobuyev’s role
Journalists and commentators circulated images and videos of a gray‑haired man rushing into a burning Kharkiv kindergarten to help children; several pieces identify him as Oleksandr Volobuev, a retired or former senior State Emergency Service official, and credit him as one of the rescuers who helped evacuate children after a drone strike [4] [1]. The BBC explicitly says “Oleksandr Volobuev was one of many who rushed to rescue 48 children from a kindergarten after it was hit by a Russian drone,” which frames him as part of a wider rescue effort rather than the sole rescuer [1].
2. Numbers and casualties: multiple accounts, slight differences
Reports agree a Russian drone strike hit a Kharkiv kindergarten amid a broader wave of attacks that day. BBC says 48 children were rescued from that nursery [1]. Other outlets record casualties elsewhere on the same day: BBC and Reuters report several people killed or wounded in the wider strikes, and local officials said children were among the wounded in some accounts [3] [5]. Crooks & Liars and other accounts emphasize that none of the children at this particular kindergarten were killed in the incident described, though summaries of the day record fatalities in other strikes [4] [3].
3. How eyewitness images and social media shaped the story
The narrative of a gray‑haired man running into flames became viral after video and photographs circulated on Telegram and social platforms; a director of a children’s fund and some journalists publicly identified the man as Volobuev based on recognition, which then fed mainstream coverage [4]. That chain — social media → identification by acquaintances → mainstream outlets — accelerated the attribution of heroism to Volobuev, a common pattern in conflict reporting where visuals drive quick human‑interest narratives [4] [1].
4. Competing perspectives and limits of available reporting
Sources consistently portray Volobuev as “one of many” rescuers; they do not support a lone‑hero narrative that he single‑handedly rescued all children [1]. Available sources do not mention details such as the exact sequence of his actions inside the building, whether he re‑entered the structure multiple times, or independent verification of every identification made on social media; those finer points remain unreported in the material provided [4] [1]. Readers should note that viral images can conflate or simplify complex rescue operations; BBC and Euronews place his actions within a broader emergency response [1] [2].
5. Broader context: why this incident resonated
The strike occurred during a large wave of Russian drone and missile attacks, which produced multiple civilian casualties and damaged social‑infrastructure targets; stories of rescuers saving children fit a powerful narrative about civilians and former emergency officials confronting wartime threats [3] [6]. ISW and other analysts continue to document wider Russian policies affecting children, deportations and occupation practices elsewhere, which frames why stories about children’s safety attract intense attention and political resonance [7] [8].
6. What remains unclear or unreported in these sources
The provided reporting does not offer forensic or independent confirmation of every detail ascribed to Volobuev (for example, an official incident timeline, CCTV corroboration, or separate rescue logs); it mostly relies on video, on‑scene reporting, local officials and social identification [4] [1]. Available sources do not mention whether investigations will produce a formal after‑action report that names individual rescuers and their precise actions [4] [1].
7. Why accuracy matters here — and what to watch next
The story’s human drama strengthens public sympathy and political pressure; at the same time, rapid identification via social media can produce overstatements. Future reliable confirmation would come in the form of official emergency‑services statements or documented rescue rosters, follow‑up reporting that cross‑checks identities, and forensic casualty reports for the incident that day (available sources do not mention these follow‑ups) [1] [2] [3].
Bottom line: multiple reputable outlets report that Oleksandr Volobuev — described as a retired/former Kharkiv SES general — was among those who helped evacuate children from a Kharkiv kindergarten struck by a Russian drone and that dozens of children were rescued (BBC cites 48); the sources frame him as one rescuer within a broader emergency operation rather than the sole savior, and they leave several procedural details unconfirmed [1] [4] [2] [3].