KYIV (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday thanked Ukraine’s military for fighting Russian attacks and its rescue services for tackling the consequences of extreme winter weather that has deprived about 400 settlements in 10 regions of power.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said relentless, intense battles were ongoing in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, while “extremely challenging weather” was affecting areas from Kyiv region in the north to Odesa in the south.
The Russian-installed heads of the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, of the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, and of the part of Kherson region under Moscow’s control, declared days off for Monday amid reports of high winds, flooded and snowbound roads, and damaged buildings.
Ukraine’s border service said Moldova had temporarily suspended vehicle access to its territory from two crossing points in Odesa region. Moldovan authorities also asked local schools to consider closing due to snowfall and high winds.
Odesa Mayor Henadii Trukhanov urged residents of his Black Sea port to stay at home. Local authorities warned that water supplies were being interrupted by power cuts that stopped pumps from working and urged people to preserve supplies.
Power grid operator Ukrenergo shared a photograph of a transmission tower in Odesa region whose leg had snapped in two due to high winds, adding, “We are doing everything possible to overcome the consequences of the bad weather as soon as possible and restore light to every home.”
(Reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv, Alexander Tanas in Chisinau and Elaine Monaghan in Washington; Editing by Alexander Smith)
