Italy offers Russia assistance in fighting wildfires in Siberia

The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday said that they may send two planes to assist Russia in fighting wildfires in Siberia.

Rome [Italy], Aug 3 (Sputnik/ANI): The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday said that they may send two planes to assist Russia in fighting wildfires in Siberia. "Amid the tragic emergency wildfire situation in Siberia, I have offered the Russian Federation cooperation with our Civil Protection Department, providing [Russia with] two Canadair planes in the hope that the situation would normalize soon," Conte tweeted.

The wildfires have been devastating Siberia since last week. The state of emergency has been imposed in several regions, including the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Republic of Buryatia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Irkutsk Region. The wildfires have spread across 6.7 million acres, which is 12 per cent more than in 2018. About 10,000 staff and some 3,000 equipment units are involved in fighting the wildfires, according to the Russian Emergencies Ministry. (Sputnik/ANI)