Annexed Crimea Declares Regional Wildfire Emergency
A wildfire near Yalta has continued to grow after it broke out last week following a Ukrainian drone attack on the peninsula.
Authorities in annexed Crimea have declared a regional state of emergency on Tuesday as a wildfire continues to grow, following a Ukrainian drone attack. The blaze erupted last Wednesday in a forest reserve near Yalta and expanded from 3 hectares to 50 hectares in just three days. Emergency officials have not confirmed the cause but NASA satellite imagery suggests the fire began after a Ukrainian drone attack on Yalta.
The Kremlin-appointed leader of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, declared the wildfire a regional natural emergency. The emergency zone encompasses the Yalta Mountain-Forest Nature Reserve, and police have been instructed to block roads leading into the area to ensure public safety. Firefighters are unable to access the fire's center due to challenging terrain, while strong winds and heat are accelerating its spread.
Crimea's regional government warns that a severe fire risk persists in the eastern and southern parts of the peninsula through Thursday. Crimea previously declared a state of emergency in late June following Ukrainian attacks that crippled major power stations and damaged the regional energy grid.
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