President Zelenskyy praises Ukrainians for battles with Russia and the weather

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commended Ukraine’s military for repelling Russian strikes and its emergency services for dealing with the aftermath of terrible winter weather, which he claimed had rendered roughly 400 villages in ten districts powerless. Zelenskyy stated in his nightly video message that unrelenting, fierce combat were still taking on in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, and that “extremely challenging weather” was hitting areas from Kyiv region in the north to Odesa in the south. Oleg Kryuchkov, a top Moscow-installed official in Russian-controlled territory, claimed almost 500,000 people were without electricity in Crimea, the peninsula Russia took in 2014. The Russian-installed heads of Crimea, 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 homes 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.”