Large-scale fires continue in the reserve “Askania-Nova” in the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region: between July 5–6 the fire destroyed another 470.5 hectares of steppe.
This was reported on the reserve’s page.
Overall, for the period from June 24 to July 6 the burned area reached 2,724.2 hectares, which is about 25% of the entire protected steppe area.
As the reserve reports, new fire outbreaks, like most of the previous ones, occur along the Askania-Nova – Dornburg road.
The administration links the fires to an increase in traffic after the occupying authorities introduced a detour via the R-47 road, which runs near the reserve’s territory, in particular the “Southern” and “Northern” sections. According to reserve representatives, this has become one of the factors contributing to the occurrence of new ignitions.
Earlier the occupiers claimed that in the reserve burned more than 2,000 hectares of territory. This was confirmed by satellite monitoring data.