Ukrainian firefighters known for rescuing people from buildings hit by shelling in more than six months of war turned their attention at the weekend to a furry victim – a grey and white kitten.

The rescuers  battled raging flames and smoke to pull the kitten out from under a metal chair in the rubble of a large wooden hotel-restaurant complex hit by a rocket in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, the country’s emergency services said on Sunday.

Video showed the firefighters petting and cuddling the kitten as they carried it to safety.

“We found a beauty,” one of the firefighters said, as the kitten wriggled around in a colleague’s arms.

Ukraine’s emergency services said the kitten’s paw needed medical attention.

“Heroes of our time,” the emergency services proclaimed of the firefighters.

“They protect, work, save, treat … and we wish the cat a speedy recovery.”