Zelensky holds urgent meeting on forest wildfires in Kharkiv, Luhansk regions

On Wednesday evening, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held an urgent meeting concerning forest wildfires in Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, the President's Office said, adding that according to the recent data, the area of fire is 400 hectares, of which 100 hectares is a crowning fire.

"In one of the villages, eight houses out of 150 ones burned down. Representatives of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine told the head of state that the necessary amount of equipment and personnel were involved in fire-fighting and fire containment. In Luhansk region, units of the Armed Forces were involved. Alerting the local population with the aim of a possible evacuation has been organized, but people are still refusing it," the President's Office said in the statement in the Telegram channel.

According to the information the preliminary cause of the wildfire was the ignition of the landfill, from which, due to gusts of wind, the fire spread to the forest.

"However, law enforcement agencies do not exclude the possibility of arson. The wildfire overhaul continues, but the situation is complicated due to strong gusts of wind," the President's Office said.

The president said that he must receive operational information about the wildfire and keep the situation under control.

"I demand quick reactions to such events. If necessary, we must organize the evacuation of all people, we must first of all think about their safety. Everything must be done for the fire-fighting and fire containment. We must also think about allocating funding to cover losses. Not later, but now," Zelensky said.

Source: https://en.interfax.com.ua