Medvedev sacks officers over Russia fire failures

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has sacked several top military officials for failing to stop wildfires from destroying a naval base outside Moscow. He made the announcement after halting his summer holiday to return to Moscow for emergency talks on the wildfires. Seven regions are under a state of emergency as the fires, which have killed 48 people, continue to rage. To the east of the capital firefighters are battling blazes near a major nuclear research facility in Sarov.

As a precaution, all nuclear materials have been removed from the site, which is about 400km (250 miles) to the east of Moscow. "All explosive and radioactive materials have been taken away," Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's nuclear agency, said after attending the emergency meeting of the national security council chaired by Mr Medvedev. Mr Kiriyenko said there was no risk of a nuclear disaster, and that the primary concern was the threat to expensive equipment and the suspension of important work. 

"I can guarantee that even in an extreme situation with squalling winds there is no danger to nuclear security, no threat of radiation, explosions, or environmental consequences," he said.Having returned to Moscow from his traditional summer break in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Mr Medvedev announced the military sackings during a televised appearance at the Kremlin. Last Thursday, flames tore through the naval logistics base in Kolomna, 100km south-east of Moscow, destroying office buildings and warehouses and equipment. 

Mr Medvedev said commanders of the base were absent when the fire occurred and that it was "unclear where they were". As a result Mr Medvedev formally reprimanded the head of the Russian navy, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, and his deputy Alexander Tatarinov, accusing them of a lack of "professional responsibility" over how the fire was handled. He also said he had ordered the sacking of a swathe of officers including the head of the Russian navy's logistics division, Sergei Sergeyev, and Nikolai Kuklev, the head of the navy's aviation arm.

Mr Medvedev said many other military sites across Russia were also threatened by the wildfires, and warned that if they were not properly protected by the military there would be more sackings. "If something similar happens in other places and departments, I will act in the same way, without any pity," Mr Medvedev said. Thousands of people have lost their homes in 14 regions of Russia over the past few days. About a fifth of Russia's grain crop has also been destroyed.