5 killed, 9 injured by wildfires in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine – At least five people have been killed and another nine have been injured by wildfires raging in Ukraine’s east, officials said Wednesday.

The wildfires triggered by extreme heat and fanned by strong winds have destroyed about 100 houses and affected several villages.

The authorities said that more than 1,600 emergency workers and 400 soldiers have been deployed to battle the blazes.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who visited the eastern region on Wednesday, promised that the government will offer a compensation of 300,000 hryvnias (about $11,000) to each family that lost a house.