mvs.gov.ua
The cause behind the latest large-scale forest fires in the Chornobyl exclusion zone was deliberate arson, Chief of Ukraine's State Service for Emergency Situations Mykola Chechotkin told Ukrainian TV Channel 5.
"Seventy percent of the fires that have occurred in the exclusion zone, which is 56 incidents since the beginning of the year, has been caused by deliberate arson. During the elimination of the latest large-scale fire, we found two torches suggesting that the fire had been caused by deliberate arson," Chechotkin said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, dry grass and reed were reported to have caught fire in a Chornobyl forest in the Chornobyl exclusion zone on June 29. The fire spread on 130 hectares with separate fire areas.