MOSCOW - A thick blanket of smoke descended on the Russian capital early Thursday, cutting visibility and air quality in the city for a second time this summer, as firefighters continued to battle wildfires in the Moscow region and across the country.

Residents of Moscow complained of stinging eyes and a strong smell of smoke as haze shrouded the city's taller buildings Thursday morning.

The smoke, from forest and peat fires in the Moscow region, will hang over the capital for at least several more days, said Alexei Lyakhev of Russia's state meteorological committee. A high pressure system is trapping the smoke, and winds at the moment are too weak to push it away, he said. No precipitation is expected this week, so residents can't count on rain to wash away the pall.

Despite the smoke, firefighters are making progress in putting out the Moscow region fires, said Viktor Sementin, an official with Russia's forest air defense service. The number of regional fires is down to 46 from a peak of 137 earlier this summer, Sementin said.

In the country as a whole, the situation is more mixed, with large fires still burning in Siberia, in the vast Sakha region and the republic of Buryatia, Sementin said. About 1.2 million hectares (2,965,200 acres) have burned so far this year, he said.

Meanwhile, two of Russia's neighbors - Finland and Estonia - complained Thursday that smoke from fires in western Russia was drifting over their territory.

The Finnish Meteorological Service said it had detected smoke in southern Finland, including the capital Helsinki, most likely from fires around Lake Ladoga in western Russia.

The Baltic nation of Estonia said a cloud of smoke was hovering over its southeastern corner and offered Russia 280,000 kroons (dlrs 18,000) in aid, including fire crews and equipment, to help put out blazes near the Estonian-Russian border. Some 30 firefighters with expertise in fighting fires in marshy conditions could be sent to Russia immediately, said a spokeswoman for Estonia's Interior Ministry.

"It's also threatening us because the smoke's unhealthy and it's difficult for some people in the border area to breathe," said Daniel Vaarik, an Estonian government spokesman.