Russian army helicopters join battle against Siberian wildfires

A plane makes a water drop to fight a forest fire in the region of Yakutia in eastern Siberia, Russia, in this still image taken from video released July 14, 2021. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via REUTERS

YAKUTIA, Russia (Reuters) - Russian military helicopters flew in firefighters to battle Siberian wildfires on Wednesday, and the Kremlin said climate change was to blame for the unprecedented blazes.

Fires raged across almost 800,000 hectares of Russian forestland, carpeting swathes of the northeastern region of Yakutia in smoke. A heatwave and strong winds have complicated the efforts of more than 2,000 firefighters on the ground.