Ukraine sends rescuers to assist France to help battle wildfires
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Ukrainian rescuers arrived in France (Photo: Ukraine's SES)
Ukraine dispatched 70 firefighters and 15 specialized vehicles to France to assist in battling wildfires on the instructions of President and under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Internal Affairs Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi reported on July 31.
Vyhivskyi noted that he held an online meeting with French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez to discuss operational details regarding the deployment of the Ukrainian rescue team. Ukraine also stands ready to send State Emergency Service (SES) firefighting aircraft if additional support is required, Vyhivskyi declared.
"SES rescuers possess unique experience operating under extremely challenging conditions. Daily, they clear the aftermath of Russian attacks, extinguish large-scale fires, conduct search and rescue operations, and work in zones of constant danger," the minister stated.
Across European Union nations, wildfire seasons have hit a critical peak, with weather conditions conducive to ignition proving 43% more severe than the average indicators of the past two decades. Since the beginning of the year, fires in Europe have burned nearly 435,000 hectares of land — triple the seasonal average, The Guardian reported, citing data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
Extreme heatwaves, drought, and strong winds have triggered over 1,400 fire outbreaks across Southern Europe. France and Spain suffered the heaviest impacts, where fires approached major cities, forcing the evacuation of over 300,000 residents and tourists.
Specifically, on the outskirts of the French city of Bordeaux, a raging wildfire burned through 91,000 hectares of forest — an absolute record for the country within a single year, even though summer has not yet concluded. The scale of the blaze was so massive that the burning forest triggered a rare localized thunderstorm. The situation in the Gironde department has been partially stabilized, with over 80,000 evacuated residents returning to their homes.
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