Zelenskyy thanks army for fighting Russian attacks and services working in extreme temperatures

(Patria) - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday thanked the Ukrainian army for fighting Russian attacks and its rescue services for dealing with the consequences of extreme winter weather that he said had left around 400 settlements in 10 regions without power, Reuters reported.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said relentless, intense fighting was underway in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, while "extremely challenging weather" had affected areas from the Kyiv region in the north to Odesa in the south.

On Russian-controlled territory, Oleg Kryuchkov, a Moscow-appointed official, said nearly half a million people were without power in Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Russian heads of Crimea, the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, and part of the Kherson region under Moscow's control, declared Monday a day off due to reports of strong winds, flooded homes, snow-covered roads, and damaged buildings.

The Ukrainian border service said Moldova had temporarily suspended vehicle access to its territory from two crossings in the Odesa region. Moldovan authorities also asked local schools to consider closing due to snowfall and strong winds.

Odesa Mayor Henadii Trukhanov urged residents of his Black Sea port to stay home. Local authorities warned that water supplies had been cut due to power outages, which had stopped pumps, and urged people to conserve supplies.

Power grid operator Ukrenergo shared a photo of a transmission tower in the Odesa region whose support had snapped in two due to strong winds, adding: "We are doing everything to overcome the consequences of the bad weather as soon as possible and return light to every home."