Russia said stormy winds and heavy floods had left about 1. 9 million people without power in the south, also mentioning Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by Moscow.
The Russian Energy Ministry said the worst affected regions were Dagestan, Krasnodar and Rostov, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea regions of Ukraine.
Local media reported at least four deaths due to the storm. Ukraine said 2,019 of its villages and towns were without electricity after the snowstorm. The storm also hit Moldova, Georgia and Bulgaria.
In the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi, large waves were observed on the city’s riverbank. Footage was also released showing a three-story building collapsing. Near the city of Anapa, also on Russia’s Black Sea coast, a cargo ship with 21 crew ran aground.
In the capital Moscow, authorities had to deploy specialized machinery to clear roads after heavy snowfall.
In the south of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula – illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 – Moscow-appointed officials reported flooding in coastal areas. Fallen trees and other debris were seen on the streets of several cities.
About 800 exotic fish died when a historic aquarium museum was destroyed by flooding in the port of Sevastopol, local media quoted the museum director as saying.
A state of emergency is currently in place in several cities in Crimea. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, said the storm had “washed away the trenches in Crimea that Russian troops had dug on the beach. ”
The Russian military has not commented on this statement. Legendary, In Ukraine, dozens of passengers had to be rescued from cars stuck in heavy snow.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s DSNS emergency service said snowstorms and strong winds were hitting 16 regions of the country.
According to the statement, 48 people, including children, were evacuated from stranded vehicles in the hardest-hit area of Odessa in the southwest. Emergency services said up to 840 vehicles had to be towed away as more than two meters of snow fell in some places.
There are currently at least 1,370 trucks stuck. At least six people suffered from hypothermia. Traffic is currently congested on 14 highways.
The southern region of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, was also heavily affected. Several vehicles overturned due to strong winds in the Odessa region of Ukraine More than 1,500 rescue workers are currently deployed across Ukraine in a large-scale clean-up operation.
They were assisted by police, border guards and National Guard members.
In the capital Kiev, the country’s largest flag – measuring 16 x 24m – had to come down from a 90m high flagpole after being damaged by strong winds. City officials said the flag will be replaced and raised again.
The extreme weather comes amid reports that Russia is once again preparing large-scale missile and drone attacks on the country’s power grid and other critical infrastructure.
Ukraine Last fall and winter, Moscow carried out a wave of deadly attacks, leaving millions across Ukraine without electricity or heat.