Local authorities said there were a total of 146 fires, 82 of which had been extinguished. Local Ukrainian authorities have said the fires may have been caused by shelling from a nearby area that is controlled by pro-Russian separatists, a crossing point to which was closed due to the fire. Last month the Ukrainian military accused pro-Russian separatists of violating a ceasefire with government forces. The simmering conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed rebels has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014. This spring, forest fires around the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant in the north of the country and elsewhere pushed pollution levels in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to the worst in the world.

Source: bd News24 October 01, 2020 09:33 UTC