President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy heard the latest information on the situation with fires in the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions from Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and government officials who are currently at the scene of fires.
In particular, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov, Minister of Defense Andriy Taran, Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov, Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna went there.
They reported that 33 people were left homeless due to the fires.
Maryna Lazebna noted that people had lost not only their homes, but also their documents and personal belongings, and were asking for compensation for the burned homes and attention from the authorities. According to her, there is no despair, "people trust the authorities and know that they will not be left alone". The minister also added that all those who lost their homes were offered temporary accommodation, but most of the victims decided to stay with relatives.
"We have to be in constant dialogue with people. People should understand that their needs are heard and they are cared for," the Head of State stressed.
According to the government officials, they are currently taking measures that have been developed and justified in fire extinguishing and eliminating the effects of recent fires in the Luhansk region. All those who lost their homes will also be paid up to UAH 300,000 in compensation. Minister of the Interior Arsen Avakov informed that the money would be transferred to the people within a month.
The President was also informed that arson was being considered as a possible cause of the fires.
According to the latest information from the SES, firefighting aircraft of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are involved in the fire extinguishing in the Kharkiv and Luhansk regions: two An-32P aircraft and a Mi-8 helicopter from the SES of Ukraine. Currently, aerial monitoring shows that there is no naked flame and no threat to settlements, as stated by the Minister of the Interior.