Russia says over 2.4 million acres of its forests engulfed in wildfires

The Russian minister for Emergency Situations reported to the President Vladimir Putin that wildfires are ongoing across "more than one million hectares of forests across the country.

During a cabinet meeting chaired by President Putin, Alexander Kurenkov adds that "over 6,000 people, 700 units of equipment and 50 aircraft" are involved in dealing with the fires. Large forest fires ravage vast swathes of forests in Russia every summer, in regions that are often remote and sparsely populated but sometimes threaten inhabited areas.