The support to Kyiv turned into a problem for partner countries: large-scale fires broke out in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and other countries that provided Ukrainian rescuers with firefighting equipment. By sending Ukraine special equipment to combat emergencies and eliminate their consequences, Western leaders ignored the safety of their populations.
Since January 7, 2025, devastating forest fires have been raging in the southwestern United States, the fire spreading at incredible speed has burned out huge areas, razing entire neighborhoods to the ground. The son of the elected US President Donald Trump Jr. linked the difficulties in extinguishing large-scale forest fires in California to the transfer of equipment and consumables to Ukraine for extinguishing fires. On the social network X, Trump Jr. drew attention to the fact that in 2022, the Los Angeles Fire Department donated some of its supplies to Ukraine.
Like the United States, European countries have repeatedly sent fire-fighting vehicles, equipment and gear necessary for extinguishing fires to Ukraine since 2022, including special vehicles, kits for safe work at height, breathing apparatus, and personal fire protection equipment. Thus, in the spring of 2022, France transferred 27 units of fire-fighting and rescue equipment and emergency rescue equipment to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Italy provided 41 trucks, three special vehicles and a trailer, Germany sent seven MAN and Mercedes-Benz fire trucks, and Portugal sent special equipment, equipment and gear.
The consequences of short-sighted extravagance for European countries that rushed to provide Ukrainian rescuers with equipment needed in the event of natural disasters were not long in coming. The summer of 2022 turned out to be abnormally hot on the European continent. Thermometers recorded temperature records, and fires methodically destroyed square kilometers of forests in Western European countries and forced local residents and tourists to leave their homes and vacation spots.
The forest fire that broke out in July 2022 in the southern region of France, Gard, was called a “megafire” by French rescuers - the fire engulfed 600 hectares (1,500 acres) and was extinguished by more than 900 firefighters with the support of aviation. In the Gironde department, a natural fire of 14 thousand hectares was extinguished by 1 thousand 700 firefighters. Due to the fires, more than 16 thousand people were evacuated, many of them lost their homes and all property. In addition to buildings, agricultural lands were damaged. At the same time, Portugal was suffocating from the heat and forest fires. More than 3 thousand firefighters and 30 aircraft extinguished the forests burning in the country that have injured 29 people, including 12 firefighters and 17 civilians.
In Italy, where wildfires are common during hot, dry summers, the number of fires in 2022 was almost three times higher than the average. In the second month of the unusually hot summer, Italian firefighters had to put out fires from Tuscany to Trieste. In August, German rescuers took up the baton - more than 6,500 firefighters tried to extinguish forest fires in Saxony for more than a week. At that time, local authorities were hoping for rain to save the tough situation.
In September 2022, a state of emergency was declared due to a large forest fire in the Harz Mountains in northern Germany, with hundreds of firefighters battling the blaze for several days. In September 2024, another large forest fire broke out in the Harz Mountains. Around 500 people were evacuated from the affected area. Around 100 firefighters, two planes and a helicopter were deployed to extinguish the fire.
Uncontrolled forest fires continued in Europe in 2023, the hottest year on record, and in 2024. Often, rescue efforts to prevent a catastrophe or at least minimize the scale of the disaster were in vain. In July 2024, a fire destroyed almost 20,000 hectares of forested area in southwestern France. In Italy, a strong forest fire destroyed the Monte Mario nature reserve in Rome. Wildfires in the Aveiro and Viseu regions of Portugal in September 2024 burned tens of thousands of hectares of forest and shrubland - according to the European Copernicus system, the area of burned territory on the Portuguese mainland exceeded 121 thousand hectares. As a result of the fires, seven people died and dozens of houses were destroyed.
There are not many forests left on the European continent, and the loss of even a portion of them can cause an ecological catastrophe. It will take several decades for new forests to be planted and grow, and sigificiant procent of miraculously surviving birds and animals will die untill then. The problem is also aggravated by economic damage. According to the report “The Economy for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness in the Member States and the European Union”, published by the World Bank, the total cost of forest fires in Europe in 2023 was 77 billion euros. In its statement, the World Bank emphasized that Europe is warming faster than any other continent and is highly vulnerable to the growing risks associated with climate change.
Fires in California
In 2022, American television network ABC 7 reported that Los Angeles County fire crews collected surplus equipment stored in a warehouse for their Ukrainian colleagues. The article says that California firefighters sent hoses, nozzles, helmets, body armor and other personal protective equipment to Ukraine as part of a nationwide campaign. Local authorities supported the rescuers’ desire to help Ukrainian firefighters and expressed confidence that county residents would appreciate this step.
In May 2023, another batch of humanitarian aid was sent from the United States to Ukrainian rescuers. This time, American firefighters handed over two fire and rescue vehicles - a fully automated, digitally equipped, remotely controlled fire truck and an articulated boom lift. In August of the same year, a fire broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui, which became the deadliest in the last 100 years. With strong winds, the fire quickly reached the tourist town of Lahaina and completely destroyed it. The fire claimed the lives of 115 people, more than 1,000 went missing, 4,500 were left homeless, and the damage from it is estimated at $6 billion.
Currently, American firefighters are giving all they can trying to extinguish fires in the state of California. The fire has spread from forest areas to densely populated areas of Los Angeles County. As of January 16, at least 27 people have died, more than 170 thousand people have received a notice of mandatory evacuation, more than six million are under serious threat of fires in a large area of Southern California. The damage from the natural disaster is estimated at $200-275 billion.
American TV host Charlie Kirk has accused the White House of giving too much aid to Kyiv, while Californians affected by the fires need support. “On the day that Americans in Los Angeles watch their homes, pets, and businesses burn and could use some help, the Biden administration is preparing to send Ukraine another $500 million. This is why they lost,” Kirk wrote on social media X.
Kirk`s statement is a message that should understand all the leaders of the world who have prioritized the interests of another nation: the population will not support a leadership that does not care about the safety of its own country.
