Forest fires blaze across Russia

Aerial view of a forest fire. Wildfires are threatening more than 200 villages in the Russian regions of Voronezh, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Mordovia. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features

Firefighters douse flames in woods surrounding the village of Lesnoye Photograph: Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images

Villagers carry religious icons as they grieve the destruction of their homes in the town of Voronezh Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/AP

Smog from out-of-control peat fires on the outskirts of Moscow envelop Red Square Photograph: Alexander Natruskin/Reuters

Flames roar unchecked through woods outside Voronezh Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/AP

A woman salvages what's left of her carrot crop after the fire Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

A heatwave across much of central Russia, with temperatures in the 40s, has created tinderbox-like conditions across swaths of the country. Tanker planes are bombing burning forests with water Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/AP

Russian troops have been called in to help the firefighting efforts Photograph: Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images

Because of large deposits of peat in some areas, the ground is on fire and can smoulder for weeks Photograph: Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images

Neighbours comfort each other over their losses Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Villagers rally with water in the village of Mokhovoye Photograph: Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images

A Russian woman in the ruins of her home, destroyed by fires in Voronezh Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

Thousands of homes have been razed to the ground across a huge region of central Russia Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

Birch forests around Voronezh have been severely damaged Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Firefighters try to douse a fire set at the edge of Voronezh, central Russia Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

Kitchen appliances rescued from the inferno in Voronezh, 310 miles south of Moscow Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features

Residents mask themselves against acrid smoke as they ponder their next move in Mokhovoye Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

Homeless and uncertain, villagers in Vilya Photograph: Mikhail Voskresensky/Reuters

A forest on fire outside the town of Novovoronezh Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Russian firefighters work to put out fires in forests on the outskirts of Voronezh Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

Anatoly Simaletov, 72, stands at the courtyard of his house after it was destroyed by a forest fire at the village of Shuberskoe Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/AP

The ruins of a house destroyed by a forest fire at the village of Shuberskoe Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/AP

People search the ruins of private storage buildings and garages that were destroyed by fires in the village of Ostfievo Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA

A man walks through the remains of his burnt out home in Voronezh Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

A woman walks through dense smoke near a cemetery in the village of Beloomut outside Moscow Photograph: Andrey Smirnov/AFP/Getty Images

A group of charred birch and evergreen trees filled with drifting smoke on the outskirts of Voronezh Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

The Verkhnyaya Vereya village destroyed by wildfire in the Nizhny Novgorod region Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

Firefighters try to extinguish fire and prevent new ignitions outside the town of Elektrogorsk Photograph: Denis Sinyakov/Reuters

The burnt root of a tree outside the town of Elektrogorsk Photograph: Denis Sinyakov/Reuters

A man walks past burnt vegetables in the village of Mokhovoye, Lukhovitsi municipal district Photograph: Andrey Smirnov/AFP/Getty Images

Russian police trainees clean up forest debris in the woods near Voronezh Photograph: Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images

People wear face masks to protect themselves from the forest fire smog near St Basil's cathedral in Red Square, Moscow Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images

A tree trunk burning amid smouldering remnants of a forest outside the village of Kadanok Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Light shines through smoke near a Russian Orthodox church in Zelenaya Sloboda Photograph: Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images

Local residents sift through charred remains of buildings in order to find some usable things in the village of Verkhnyaya Vereya Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

Charred remains of the Verkhnyaya Vereya village Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

Forest fire seen near from the village of Dolginino
Photograph: Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images

A man tries to make a barrier to the fire near Dolginino Photograph: Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin visits the site of a recent wildfire near the city of Voronezh Photograph: RIA Novosti/Reuters

Smoke from the fire engulfs the Russian foreign ministry building in central Moscow in the early hours of the morning Photograph: Boris Yelenin/AFP/Getty Images