MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Russian regions will receive almost 2 billion rubles ($22.5 mln) from the federal government in 2024 so that they can purchase drones to detect and extinguish forest fires, head of the Federal Forestry Agency, Ivan Sovetnikov, told a press conference.

"A decision was made to allocate additional money to regions for drones. Next year, almost 1.9 billion rubles will go to the regions for the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles. The main users of drones are forest fire departments, which use them to detect fires and conduct fire reconnaissance," Sovetnikov said.

This year, about 800 drones in 54 regions of Russia were used to monitor forest fire conditions, and some of them were used to put fires out.

"Starting in 2024, the national project "Unmanned Aviation Systems" will be launched. As part of this project we are considering expanding the fleet of UAVs in many regions of Russia. UAVs have in fact proven their effectiveness and this year they were used to extinguish forest fires in 16 regions. I am sure that such devices and systems will have a positive impact on protecting forests from fires in 2024 as well as in years to come," Sovetnikov added.