An onslaught of bark beetles is threatening to decimate the mighty pine forests of Belarus. The ravenous insects destroyed more than 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of woodland in Brest, the country’s westernmost region, last year alone – “almost the area of a small town”, says state TV’s ONT channel. Viktar Ambrazheichik, the forestry chief of Drahichyn district, told ONT he hasn’t seen anything like it in 30 years, and warned that the “problem is only just beginning”. Pinsk, Stolin and Luninyets districts are already affected, and the beetles are now spreading into Drahichyn.