Firefighters battling forest fire in Chornobyl zone after drone strike

Firefighters have been working for more than a day to extinguish a forest fire in the Chornobyl exclusion zone that broke out following a Russian drone attack.

This was reported by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Facebook, Ukrinform says.

“As a result of the shelling, forest litter and deadwood caught fire. Firefighting operations are ongoing at three locations,” the agency said.

More than 80 hectares of land have been affected by the fire. Dry weather conditions and strong gusts of wind are contributing to the spread of the flames.

A total of 148 rescuers have been deployed to extinguish the fire.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, on May 14, several fires broke out in the Chornobyl exclusion zone after Russian drones were shot down in hard-to-reach areas.