Shafaqna English– The Serbian interior ministry has announced that Belgrade has officially requested firefighting support from Russia, citing the lack of available aircraft from European Union partners as the primary reason for turning to the non-EU power, a development that underscores the operational challenges faced by the Serbian authorities in mobilizing a coordinated response to the environmental emergency.
An IL-76P firefighting aircraft belonging to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations arrived at Nis in southern Serbia on Wednesday evening and was rapidly redeployed on Thursday morning to the Deliblatska Pescara area, a protected nature reserve where a long-burning wildfire—active for several consecutive weeks—had continued to resist local containment efforts, necessitating the specialized aerial support.
Source: Reuters