Overview
- The Chernihiv border blaze, designated an emergency on Thursday, has burned about 2,400 hectares after reported Russian attacks, according to the state forestry service.
- Firefighters cannot enter the five‑kilometer border strip because Russian first‑person‑view drones patrol the area, so crews are working from safer positions to hold the fire back.
- A separate fire of roughly 1,100 hectares is burning inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone after a drone crash on Thursday, with officials reporting radiation levels within normal limits.
- Mine hazards and strong winds are slowing work in the Chernobyl zone, forcing teams to pause in some sections and focus on preventing the fire from spreading further.
- In Zakarpattia’s Borzhava Ridge, about 75 hectares burned as prosecutors opened a criminal case, and investigators will test human and natural causes after extinguishing the fire, with an arson‑for‑hire theory under review but unconfirmed.