Firefighters from Ukraine's State Emergency Service have returned home after spending nearly two weeks in France, where they assisted in containing large-scale forest fires.

A team of 70 firefighters from Ukraine has been deployed to southwest France to help combat wildfires that have scorched 42,000 hectares, marking the worst blaze in decades. The Ukrainian rescuers are assisting in putting out the remaining flames.

Ukrainian firefighters have joined French counterparts to combat wildfires west of Bordeaux, France, an unprecedented international mobilization. The widespread fires have also prompted personal reflections on the reality of climate change among those who witnessed the devastation.