With the war raging in Ukraine, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is faced with a second front in the east, with devastating forest fires raging across Siberia. Due to forest fires that started unusually early this year in Russia, blazes erupted in three large regions of Siberia, Omsk, Tyumen and Krasnoyarsk. Massive fires are currently taking place in large areas of Western, Central, Southern and Eastern Siberia.
“WHY ARE THE GODS SO ANGRY!”
The moments when the terrified animals tried to escape from the area devastated by the fire were recorded on cameras. More than 60 houses were destroyed by fire in the Krasnoyarsk region, 1,400 miles east of Tyumen. Smoke spread engulfed the major cities of Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk. A woman from the Tyumen region commented on the shared images, “Why are the gods so angry?”
OUT OF CONTROL
Greenpeace Russia said the alarming bushfires covered twice the area compared to this time last year. Spokesman Aleksey Yaroshenko said the fires were more common than the authorities had recorded, and that the situation in some forests was getting out of control.
MORE EXPECTED
Putin’s regional governments in Siberia have taken urgent measures to deal with severe wildfires, but Russia is experiencing the worst wildfire season in modern history, according to the latest data shared. More fires are likely to start due to the release of gas as the fires thaw the frozen ground.