Why Russia is unable to cope with forest fires
Massive forest fires are raging again in russia, with the baikal region being the hardest hit. Currently, the fire is approaching the region’s capital, chita.
▫️In attempts to stop the flames, civil servants and public sector workers are being “voluntarily-forced” into firefighting efforts, but these people lack the skills and proper protective equipment. What’s more, they are being forced to take unpaid leave to fight the fire, so the effectiveness of firefighting is low.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the situation with forest fires in russia has worsened. In May this year, over 4.3 million hectares of forest burned in the baikal region alone. However, russian media are trying to downplay the problem, and local authorities seem to respond ineffectively to such threats.
russian officials clearly have no motivation to fight the fires, as the main thing kremlin demands from them is to allocate most of their financial and organizational resources to the war against Ukraine.
