Russian military aircraft help fight wildfires in Siberia

The Russian military has used its heavy-lift transport planes to help douse wildfires in Siberia

MOSCOW -- The Russian military has used its heavy-lift transport planes to help douse wildfires in Siberia, the Defense Ministry said Saturday. It said that the crew of Il-76 military transport planes dropped 336 metric tons (370 tons) of water on blazes in Sakha-Yakutia in northeastern Siberia over the last 24 hours. The ministry said that military helicopters also dropped water to extinguish fires and carried firefighters. The regional branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry's in Sakha-Yakutia said more than 2,000 of its personnel were battling the wildfires.