Ukraine to help Russia smother wildfires

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Sunday pledged Ukraine will assist Russia with fire-fighting, RIA Novosti reported.

"A phone conversation between Yanukovych and [Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev was held today, in time of this conversation the presidents discussed the complicated situation in several Russians regions, which was caused by wildfires and agreed that Ukraine will render assistance aimed at rectification of the disaster's consequences," the Unian news agency said referring to the Yanukovych's press service.

The Ukrainian president has charged the Cabinet of Ministers to take measures to assist Russia to cope with the consequences of the severe disaster.

Wildfires raging in central Russia due to abnormally hot weather have claimed 30 lives, left 2,210 people homeless and caused damages worth over 4.6 billion rubles ($150 million), the Ministry for Regional Development said on Sunday.

The wildfires have affected 14 Russian regions, destroyed a total of 1,875 homes, with the largest destructions observed in the Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh and Ryazan regions, the ministry said, citing data as of late July 31.