Russian military fights forest fires in Siberia

Russian emergency workers kept up the fight against wildfires in Siberia on Friday. the wildfires are engulfing more than 3.1 million hectares, an area roughly the size of Belgium. The region ablaze includes remote, uninhabited forest in Krasnoyarsk, Yakutia and Irkutsk, creating what environmentalists have called an ecological catastrophe. Russia sent military planes and helicopters to help firefighters battling the fires.

The representative of the emergencies ministry said weather forecasts were not promising with heat of around 30 degrees centigrade for the several following days. U.S. President Donald Trump offered Russian President Vladimir Putin help in tackling the blaze, in a rare phone call on July 31. Putin said he would take up the offer if needed.