Although moving forward, Oleksandr Volobuev's body is angled slightly away from the camera, as if bracing against the deadly air still swirling with falling debris and smoke.
His face in careful concentration, the Major-General from Ukraine's Civil Protection Service clings tightly to a precious bundle, wrapped for protection in his coat - and out of which two small pink shoes protrude.
It is a striking image of a dramatic rescue from a nursery school in the eastern city of Kharkiv, following a devastating, direct hit by a Russian drone.
Unsurprisingly it has gone viral, capturing both the Ukrainian and the wider global public's imagination. With 48 children trapped in a shelter in the burning building, it was not the only act of bravery that day, not by a long way.
But few photographs better sum up the growing impact of Russia's full-scale invasion on everyday life, with Ukraine's most vulnerable now bearing the brunt, including children.
We got the call that there had been an attack on the kindergarten, Oleksandr Volobuev told me. And, of course, knowing there would be children there, we set off in a state of some anxiety.
Little did he expect that by the end of that day, as a result of carrying that little girl to safety, he would find himself being hailed as a national hero.
In a split-second moment caught on camera, the Ukrainian people saw not only the reality of Russia's new strategy - its increasing attacks on civilian infrastructure - but also a stark depiction of their own resilience and defiance.
It's impossible to know why the Honey Academy, based in a sturdy, two-storey brick building in Kharkiv's Kholodnohirsky district, was hit by a Shahed drone. The low, menacing hum of those Iranian-designed weapons, which carry a lethal 50kg payload, is now all too familiar, not only to soldiers on the front line, but to Ukrainians everywhere.
While they can be devastatingly accurate, the large volume being fired by Russia - with multiple waves of drones in each attack on cities across the country - means some inevitably malfunction. Russia has regularly denied targeting residential areas, but maps of the city show no obvious military targets in the immediate vicinity of the kindergarten, and the Ukrainian government certainly spoke of it as deliberate.
There is no justification for an attack on a kindergarten, nor can there ever be, President Volodymyr Zelensky said shortly after the strike. Clearly, Russia is growing more brazen.
For all the rescuers, the constant awareness not only of the risks of fire, falling masonry and smoke, but of the possibility of another strike cast a shadow over the rescue operation. Russia has been known to hit the same target twice, which Ukrainians see as a deliberate strategy to kill emergency workers.
The day after the nursery school attack, one of these so-called double taps killed a firefighter and wounded five of his colleagues in a village a short distance from Kharkiv.
Despite the immense risks, all 48 children were carried to an emergency reception point nearby, unharmed, illustrating both the bravery of the rescuers and the unwavering spirit of the Ukrainian people in the face of adversity. Major-General Oleksandr and his team embodied hope amid chaos, striving for a peaceful future for all children.
His face in careful concentration, the Major-General from Ukraine's Civil Protection Service clings tightly to a precious bundle, wrapped for protection in his coat - and out of which two small pink shoes protrude.
It is a striking image of a dramatic rescue from a nursery school in the eastern city of Kharkiv, following a devastating, direct hit by a Russian drone.
Unsurprisingly it has gone viral, capturing both the Ukrainian and the wider global public's imagination. With 48 children trapped in a shelter in the burning building, it was not the only act of bravery that day, not by a long way.
But few photographs better sum up the growing impact of Russia's full-scale invasion on everyday life, with Ukraine's most vulnerable now bearing the brunt, including children.
We got the call that there had been an attack on the kindergarten, Oleksandr Volobuev told me. And, of course, knowing there would be children there, we set off in a state of some anxiety.
Little did he expect that by the end of that day, as a result of carrying that little girl to safety, he would find himself being hailed as a national hero.
In a split-second moment caught on camera, the Ukrainian people saw not only the reality of Russia's new strategy - its increasing attacks on civilian infrastructure - but also a stark depiction of their own resilience and defiance.
It's impossible to know why the Honey Academy, based in a sturdy, two-storey brick building in Kharkiv's Kholodnohirsky district, was hit by a Shahed drone. The low, menacing hum of those Iranian-designed weapons, which carry a lethal 50kg payload, is now all too familiar, not only to soldiers on the front line, but to Ukrainians everywhere.
While they can be devastatingly accurate, the large volume being fired by Russia - with multiple waves of drones in each attack on cities across the country - means some inevitably malfunction. Russia has regularly denied targeting residential areas, but maps of the city show no obvious military targets in the immediate vicinity of the kindergarten, and the Ukrainian government certainly spoke of it as deliberate.
There is no justification for an attack on a kindergarten, nor can there ever be, President Volodymyr Zelensky said shortly after the strike. Clearly, Russia is growing more brazen.
For all the rescuers, the constant awareness not only of the risks of fire, falling masonry and smoke, but of the possibility of another strike cast a shadow over the rescue operation. Russia has been known to hit the same target twice, which Ukrainians see as a deliberate strategy to kill emergency workers.
The day after the nursery school attack, one of these so-called double taps killed a firefighter and wounded five of his colleagues in a village a short distance from Kharkiv.
Despite the immense risks, all 48 children were carried to an emergency reception point nearby, unharmed, illustrating both the bravery of the rescuers and the unwavering spirit of the Ukrainian people in the face of adversity. Major-General Oleksandr and his team embodied hope amid chaos, striving for a peaceful future for all children.
