国际英语新闻：Wildfires in Russia become political issue

Local media said that the heatwave and tornados coupled with human negligence caused the wildfires.

Fires also broke out in 15 national parks and reserves, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources Igor Maidanov said.

Putin flew to the Nizhny Novogorod region to assess the situation, where he promised that new homes would be built before the winter. Meanwhile, every victim will receive 10,000 rubles ( about 330 U.S. dollars) as an immediate compensation with no paperwork required.

In addition, Putin ordered to pay the victims' families a compensation of one million rubles (about 33,000 dollars) for each person killed by the fire.

After returning to Moscow, Putin signed a decree on the allocation of 5 billion rubles (165 million dollars) in assistance for those who lost their homes to fire in the 14 regions.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev conducted an emergency meeting where he ordered army units to join firefighters throughout the country to contain the fires.

The Emergencies Ministry has sent 16 aircraft and helicopters and additional firefighting units to battle the wildfires, the RIA Novosti news agency said.

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry set up an emergency office for monitoring the wildfires. According to the ministry, the office has some 2,000 troops and 50 combat vehicles under its command.

In addition, a 5,000-strong police force has been deployed in the affected areas to prevent looting, the Interior Ministry said.