More than 10,000 hectares of forest are burning in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, a Ukrainian official has warned.
Lyudmila Denisova, Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights said the fires have led to an increased level of radioactive air pollution with a threat to neighboring European countries.
She attributed the fires to Russian combat in the region. 31 blazes have been recorded. She has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send firefighters and equipment to help tackle them.
Ms Denisova warned windy and dry weather would worsen the blazes.
“Control and suppression of fires is impossible due to the capture of the exclusion zone held by Russian troops. As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into the atmosphere, which are transported by wind over long distances.
“This threatens radiation to Ukraine, Belarus and European countries,” she said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
