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Russia and EU aid Serbia’s 3,500-hectare wildfire
Serbia has brought in Russian and EU firefighting assistance as a weeks-long wildfire burns in the Deliblatska Pescara reserve.
What happened
A Russian emergency-service IL-76 arrived in Niš and began helping fight a wildfire in Serbia’s Deliblatska Pescara reserve. Serbia later accepted EU civil-protection assistance, including helicopters and ground crews, as drought, heat and wind kept fires burning in the reserve and elsewhere in the country.
Numbers
- 3,500 hectaresReserve area affected by fire
- 42,000 litresWater carried per Russian drop
- 4 helicoptersEU aircraft accepted by Serbia
Questions
- Where is the main fire?
- It is in Deliblatska Pescara, a protected sandy landscape east of Belgrade with dunes, shrubland and pine forests.
- Why needed special flight permission?
- EU airspace is closed to Russian aircraft under sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so Bulgaria granted an exemption.
- What assistance has Europe arranged?
- Helicopters, firefighters and vehicles from Romania, Slovakia, Czechia and Germany were arranged through the EU civil-protection mechanism after Serbia activated it.
- What if fires spread elsewhere?
- Serbia’s accepted EU support can also be used in other parts of the country if further fires require it.
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The catch
Coverage does not confirm whether the wildfire is contained or provide a full assessment of damage.