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Ukraine reports 10 deaths in snowstorm

November 28, 2023

Severe weather has claimed at least ten lives, cut power to tens of thousands of people, and blocked roads in a country already strained by Russia's war.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ZW0T
Ukrainian service members try to free a car which is stuck in snow following a heavy snowstorm in Odesa region
More than 1,500 vehicles had to be freed from the snow Image: Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Hurricane-force winds and relentless snowfall have left ten people dead and 23 injured in snowstorms that swept Ukraine since Sunday.

The storm caused widespread damage in southern Ukraine, the south of Russia, and the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in violation of international law in 2014.

"As a result of worsening weather conditions, ten people died in Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv regions," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on the Telegram app on Tuesday.

"Twenty-three people were injured, including two children," Klymenko added.

Cut off power

Russia's war in Ukraine has put a strain on the country's energy grid and rescue services.

The relentless storm has also disrupted power supplies, leaving 411 settlements in 11 regions without electricity.

Authorities said the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions were hardest hit by the power cuts, with 40,000 homes initially affected in Kyivregion.

On Monday night, 15,000 homes in the capital region were still without electricity.

Rescuers teams have also assisted nearly 2,500 people in Odesa alone. Emergency services said they treated people for injuries from falling trees and hypothermia.

Despite the storms, fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continued in eastern Ukraine.

Protecting Ukraine's power grid

lo/fb (AFP, dpa, Reuters)