Embassy Russia in Serbia announced that he was sent to Serbia on the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin plane type "Ilyushin" with a crew and an operational group of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia to extinguish forest fires.
As the embassy announced on Instagram, the request for support came directly from the Serbian side: the partners turned to Russia with a request for help due to the critical worsening of the situation with fires and the endangerment of populated areas.
The Il-76 aircraft is equipped with special equipment, including water discharge devices, which enable effective combat against large hotspots.
"Within international cooperation and in accordance with the principles of mutual assistance, the units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia are ready to react quickly and cooperate closely with the competent services of Serbia," the announcement reads.
It is emphasized that "joint efforts will be focused on the localization of forest fires, as well as on the protection of populated areas and critical infrastructure from the danger caused by the spread of fire" and that "at the same time, an extremely difficult situation with forest fires is developing in the region: the scale of the fire poses a serious threat to infrastructure and the population."
Photo: Ministry of the Interior of SerbiaThe plane can eject up to 42 tons of water
Vučić four days ago: It is not necessary, we have enough forces
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said on August 16 that Serbia can expect help from European mechanisms as well as from Russia in extinguishing the fire, but that it was not necessary at that time and that there is no reason to worry when it comes to fires.
On that occasion, he thanked the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for the fact that that body included Serbia on the map of countries threatened by fires and added that European mechanisms are monitoring the events in Serbia.
"We can expect help from there at any time, the Russians have also offered us support and help. It is not necessary at this moment, we have enough forces, knowledge, helicopters and everything else to be able to deal with it ourselves. So there is no great reason to worry when it comes to fires," said Vučić at the time.
Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic announced on Instagram that from tomorrow "Ilyushin" will be involved in firefighting operations in Deliblatska peščara, in coordination with the Helicopter Unit of the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia.
As he stated, the plane can eject up to 42 tons of water in one burst, which makes it one of the most powerful operational firefighting planes, bearing in mind that there are no firefighting planes of that capacity available within the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union.
Let us remind you that the fire burning in Deliblatska peščara broke out on August 5, since when firefighters have been fighting the fire, which is fueled and spread by a strong wind that constantly changes direction. According to the data of Vojvodina, over 350 people with equipment participate in extinguishing fires from the ground and from the air.
Source: Beta / N1
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