Severe disaster. What is happening in the Lugansk region

Large-scale forest fires in the Lugansk region caused a critical situation in several districts at once, several villages were completely burned.

There are very strong fires in the Lugansk region. As of Thursday, October 1, almost a hundred fires were recorded near the occupied districts of the Lugansk region. The largest-scale fires occurred in the forests of the Novoaydarsky, Starobelsky, Popasnyansky and Stanichno-Lugansky districts, all adjacent to the Joint Forces Operation zone.

Almost a thousand people were evacuated from the epicenter of the disaster and the fire threatens several dozen settlements. At least 9 fire victims and 14 injuries are known. Due to the strong wind, new sources appear, the vast majority of them in the front line area. In general, the fire covered about 10 thousand hectares of the territory of the Lugansk region.

Correspondent.net collected information on the situation in the Lugansk region.

Ammunition detonates

Ammunition is detonated near the entry and exit checkpoint in Stanytsia Luhanska, the passage of citizens through the demarcation line is temporarily closed.

Subsequently, the fire reached directly to the checkpoint: the infrastructure elements were already partially damaged, the pavilion of those waiting was destroyed.

At the moment, in Stanytsia Luhanska, almost all the houses on Donetskaya Street are on fire, the fire is accompanied by explosions. The fight against fires is complicated by the detonation of explosive objects that were left in yards and houses after a massive bombing in 2014-2016.

According to preliminary estimates, the approximate area covered by the fire is about 9.3 thousand hectares.

Now firefighters continue to extinguish 64 fires in the natural ecosystems of the Lugansk region. Fire suppression is complicated by gusts of wind that spread the fire.

Also, on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, rescuers are extinguishing a fire in a warehouse for household chemicals and paints and varnishes.

In total, 1,247 people and 209 units participated in the extinction. equipment, including 2 AN-32 P aircraft and 2 GSChS helicopters.

They write on social media that the villages of Voronovo and Smolyaninovo have already been completely burned.

So the fire

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he did not link the fires in the Lugansk region with the shelling at the front: “I would not combine the issue of fires with the bombings. Criminal proceedings have been recorded due to these fires. These are not the first fires which unfortunately occur in the Luhansk region. ” this year, but we have learned to deal with all the fires very quickly, without losing people. If it was a provocation or what were the reasons, I still cannot say. Professionals must say so. Law enforcement officers must say “.

Earlier, Zelensky’s office said they took into account information that fires in the Lugansk region could have caused shelling.

Prior to that, JOS headquarters said the Ukrainian Armed Forces military and rescuers from the State Emergency Service continue to locate fires “caused by hostile armed provocations with the use of tracer bullets the day before.”

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov did not rule out a series of arson: “We came across this a little earlier, in the summer, when we saw arson going our way. Now we see similar signs, researchers are working on these issues together with the military. “