LUGANSK, September 5. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops set forests and farmlands in the Kharkov Region on fire in order to delay the advance of Russian forces, Yevgeny Lisnyak, deputy head for defense and security of the military-civilian administration of the Kharkov Region, told a briefing.

"We are facing the real threat of an environmental disaster that can be caused by the Ukrainian military. We have recorded [Ukrainian troops] setting fire to forests and farm fields to impede the advance of Russian forces," he said.

According to Lisnyak, the forests pose a threat to residents near the line of engagement. "Ukraine endangers citizens as it uses a ‘scorched earth’ policy which has been banned under the Geneva Convention," he argued.