State Emergency Service

No violations of the ceasefire in the Joint Forces Operation zone in eastern Ukraine's Donbas were recorded on Thursday, September 3.

There were no Ukrainian army casualties, the JFO Command said in a morning update on Facebook on Friday, September 4.

Ukrainian military adhere to the ceasefire, remaining ready to respond to any enemy attack, it said.

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Since Friday midnight, the sides have continued observing full and comprehensive ceasefire.

At the same time, the JFO HQ says efforts to put out wildfires in Donetsk and Luhansk regions are underway.

"The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with the firefighters of the State Emergency Service, are participating in extinguishing fires near the settlements of Valuiske, Stanytsia Luhanska, Lopaskine, Lobacheve, Popasna, Novo-Oleksandrivka, and Triokhizbenka. The required number of personnel and equipment has been involved in extinguishing the fires," the command said.

Read alsoZelensky holds urgent meeting over wildfires in Kharkiv, Luhansk regions (Video)Wildfires have already been extinguished in such settlements as Krasnohorivka, Zaitseve, Yelyzavetivka, Zolote-3, and Kamianka. Also, mine clearance of the territory and restoration of houses damaged by shelling is underway.

Wildfires in Donbas: background

  • Massive wildfire broke out on July 6 on an area of about 50 hectares near the village of Oskolonivka in Luhansk region's Novoaidarsky district, which is part of the Borovsky and Okhtyrsky forestry departments.
  • Gusts of wind (up to 25 meters per second) and high air temperatures (+38 degrees Celsius) let the fire spread to the village of Smolianynove. It destroyed and damaged dozens of houses; 30 people, including 13 children, were evacuated from Smolianynove and a nearby gardening co-operative, and another 30 people were resettled. The death toll reached five, while 34 people were taken to hospitals.
  • The police were considering three main versions behind the fire: severe weather, careless handling of fire, and arson.
  • On July 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the state would allocate UAH 50 million, or US$1.8 million, in aid to those affected by the fires.