Large-scale fires in the Luhansk oblast show signs of arson. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov stated this on the air of the Ukraine 24 channel.
Avakov admitted the possibility of arson by the Russian occupation forces. "We faced this earlier, in the summer, when we saw that arson was going in our direction. Now we see similar signs, investigators are working on these issues together with the military", - the minister said.
According to him, the issue of enhancing fire safety in the oblast has been existed for a long time. "We do not have enough technical capabilities, we turned to the parliament in the summer to strengthen it in the Luhansk region, where there are massifs of coniferous forests and where provocations from the demarcation line often take place…", - Avakov said.
As previously reported, 85 fires were recorded on the territory of Luhansk region in the evening of September 30. According to the military, the forest fire spread to the territory of some settlements due to the squally wind. The main efforts in extinguishing were concentrated in the Novoaidar, Starobilsk and Stanytsia-Luhanska districts. As noted in the regional police, 4 people have already died because of the fires.