Anti-atom.ru, August 17, 2010 - On Wednesday, August 18 activists from Ecodefense are joining officials from the Emergency Ministry on the tour to inspect the situation in Bryansk region where radioactively contaminated forests were burning through last month.

Bellona.org (Charles Digges), August 16, 2010 - Minister Sergey ShoiguRussian emergency officials have come up with a novel tool to smother the spate of heat wave caused wildfires that threaten to tear through radioactively contaminated forests and lands during the country’s hottest summer, releasing radiation: pull information about fires in radioactively contaminated areas and threaten punishment for those spreading “rumours.”

Anti-atom.ru, August 15, 2010 - New transportation of nuclear waste from Germany to Russia is planned for late 2010 or 2011 through the Baltic sea. It consists of 951 spent fuel roads from research reactor in Rossendorf. Roads are stored in Ahaus nuclear waste storage since 2005. Ecodefense strongly opposes this transportation and demand to cancel this.

Anti-atom.ru, August 14, 2010 - On Friday afternoon head of Russian Emergency Ministry Sergey Shoigu publicly demanded to stop the rumors about radiation danger as a result of forest fires in the region of Bryansk. Immediately after this statement, Russian governmental organization "Roslesozaschita", responsible for protecting forests, removed from its web-site the information about forest fire in radioactively contaminated zones in the west of Russia.

Der Spiegel, August 12, 2010 - With fires continuing to blaze across Russia, many are concerned that radioactivity left over from the Chernobyl disaster could be released into the air. The Kremlin, however, has played down the risk.

Christian Science Monitor (Fred Vier), August 11, 2010 - The cloud of toxic smog that has blanketed Moscow for weeks lifted dramatically on Wednesday, but environmental experts point out that much of Russia is still aflame. And they warn there is a new threat of radioactive smoke from forest fires raging near the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear meltdown.

РГ Bellona.org (Charles Digges), August 11, 2010 - Despite assurances from nuclear and emergency officials last week that Russia’s record setting pandemic of raging wildfires poses no danger to nuclear installations, radioactive dust and smoke is now a concern as fires reach the areas affected by the 1986 Chernobyl blast and the Mayak Chemical Combine, where radioactive rivers are running dry and spreading contaminated sediment.

Christian Science Monitor (Fred Weir), August 9, 2010 - Russia's ongoing heat wave, along with its disastrous fallout, may have finally persuaded the Kremlin to combat climate change.

Russian officials, who have until now resisted dramatic action out of fears it would dampen economic growth, have lately issued strong statements linking global warming to the emergency Russia is currently facing. Some hope the abrupt change of tune will result in more effective environmental policies, even after the smog dies down.