Russian Defense Ministry's aviation extinguishes wildfires on 113,000 hectares

"Russian Defense Ministry's aviation extinguished 84 wildfires on the territory of 113,000 hectares in Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions in the last two days," the press service said.

Il-76 aircraft from Russian Aerospace Defense Forces performed 34 flights and dumped over 1,400 tonnes of water. Mi-8 military helicopters dumped around 550 tonnes of water in the areas engulfed by wildfires. "Using Russian Defense Ministry's aircraft and helicopters for extinguishing wildfires has allowed to slow down the speed of fire spreading five-fold and to eliminate smoke pollution in cities and settlements in Krasnoyarsk region, as well as to improve the general ecological environment in the region," the press service said.

On Friday, military helicopters also conducted reconnaissance in the areas that are hard to access. Firefighting efforts in those areas will be launched early Saturday.

A state of emergency over wildfires was declared in Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk regions, as well as in two Buryatia districts and one Yakutia district. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered 10 aircraft and 10 helicopters from the Russian Defense Ministry to join firefighting efforts in Siberia.