"Natalia Pryprosta was tending to her pigs when fire swept into the village of Studenok, near the city of Izium in eastern Ukraine. There was no time. She grabbed her papers, pulled her elderly mother into a friend's car, and tried to get the animals out of the shed. Smoke and the speed of the blaze made it impossible. She didn't see the animals burning, but learned of their fate later. Smoke smothered Studenok, turning the village as dark as night."
"Firefighters arrived, but the blaze was relentless. At one point, it surged around a fire truck, trapping the crew. Mines and unexploded ordnance, left scattered since the Russian occupation and subsequent liberation in 2022, detonated in the heat. Each explosion fed the flames, sending burning debris, branches and embers flying across the village. Trees ignited, and wood fragments were hurled 700-800 metres, recalls Serhii Kohan, the village head."
An intense wildfire swept from a national park forest about 23km from Studenok, rapidly consuming trees and structures and darkening the village with smoke. Villagers scrambled to evacuate people and livestock, but speed and smoke prevented saving animals and many homes burned. Mines and unexploded ordnance left since occupation detonated in the heat, each blast feeding the fire and hurling burning debris and wood fragments up to 700–800 metres. Firefighters were initially trapped and only entered after wind shifts and reduced explosions around 9pm. Kharkiv oblast recorded the highest number of forest fires, accounting for 60% of Ukraine's fires in the first eight months of 2025.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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