Russia criticizes US over California wildfires
According to TASS on January 12, the official spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova commented on the information that hundreds of prisoners were sent to extinguish the fire in California. Ms. Zakharova said that the US is showing “hypocrisy”.
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Earlier, the Washington Post, citing information from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reported that the state had sent 395 inmates to fight the wildfire. The publication noted that most of them were inmates who had committed minor crimes.
On her Telegram channel, Zakharova drew attention to the fact that in recent years, US officials have repeatedly criticized China for allegedly using forced labor, especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The diplomat noted that in 2023, Washington restricted imports of products from a number of Chinese companies from US supply chains, in order to exclude goods allegedly produced with the help of forced Uyghur labor.
“In this regard, a reasonable question arises: will Congress develop a bill to impose sanctions on the California government, private companies, and ordinary Americans for using prison labor to extinguish fires?” Zakharova wrote.
Wildfires began spreading in Los Angeles on January 7. Meteorologists attributed the rapid spread of the fires to dry and windy weather. The total area burned in the state has reached nearly 15,500 hectares, according to the latest data from the California Department of Fire Protection. The two largest fires, in the Eaton and Pacific Palisades areas, are 15% and 11% contained, respectively.