Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has ordered a total of 5 billion rubles ($165 million) to be disbursed from the federal budget to the central Russian areas worst affected by wildfires, his spokesman said on Friday.

Over the last 24 hours, over 1,000 homes have been destroyed in the largest wildfire ever to hit the European part of Russia.

Dmitry Peskov said the money will go to people who have lost their homes in the republics of Mordovia and Tatarstan, as well as the regions of Belgorod, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Kirov, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Lipetsk, Tambov and Tula.

Peskov said Putin had put himself in charge of the situation.

"The last point of the order reads: 'I shall personally oversee the implementation of the present order. V. Putin,'" Peskov said.

MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti)