Putin takes part in firefighting

To speed up the process of firefighting across Central Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has got behind the controls of an amphibious plane.

As soon as Putin arrived in one of the country's worst affected areas, he swapped his own personal plane for an emergency one, of which he acted as co-pilot.

The premier helped take water from one of the country's rivers, the Oka, and drop it on to the burning forests.

Two fires were extinguished thanks to the joint efforts of Putin and emergency workers.