Death toll reaches 10; around 2,500 rescued as heavy snowstorm batters Ukraine

KYIV: At least 10 people were killed while 23 more including two children were left injured in Ukraine on Tuesday morning as the country was battered by severe storms, Kyiv Independent reported citing Ukraine Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Among the casualties, five deaths and 15 injuries were reported in Odesa Oblast, one of the worst-hit regions of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the emergency services provided assistance to 2,498 people in the oblast, including 162 children, Klymenko said. Two people died and two were injured in Mykolaiv Oblast, according to the minister. The remaining dead victims were reported in Kyiv and Kharkiv Oblast, Kyiv Independent reported. The Russian authorities also reported one person dead in Crimea due to the weather conditions on November 27.

Notably, heavy storms, wind, rain, and snowfall hit much of Ukraine on November 26-27, leading to floods, damages to buildings, power outages, and traffic problems, Kyiv Independent reported.

Earlier on Monday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the rescuers, utility workers and local authorities for carrying out the rescue operation around the clock.

"Bad weather has caused power outages in more than 2,000 towns and villages in 16 regions of Ukraine and has also blocked road traffic. I am grateful to all rescuers, utility workers, the National Police, local authorities, and engineers working around the clock to help people," Zelenskyy posted on X (formerly Twitter).

A total of 1,530 stranded vehicles were towed. Eight highways in the Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad oblasts remain closed, and traffic is restricted on sections of two roads in Odesa Oblast, according to Klymenko. Some 411 settlements in 11 oblasts reportedly remain without power as of Tuesday morning.