Storm death toll jumps to 10 across Ukraine

TOPSHOT – Waves crash against a seafront in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi during a storm on November 27, 2023. (Photo by Mikhail Mordasov / AFP)

KYIV, Ukraine, Nov 28, 2023 (AFP) – Hurricane force winds and snowfall have left 10 people dead and 23 people injured in Ukraine, piling pressure on emergency services and an energy grid already burdened by Russia’s invasion.

The storm has lashed swathes of the south of the country as well as the Crimean peninsula that was annexed by the Kremlin and regions in southern Russia.

“Ten people died in Ukraine due to bad weather. Twenty three people, including children, were injured,” the interior ministry said in a statement on social media.

Ukraine’s energy grid and rescue services have been over-extended by Russia’s nearly two-year invasion.

The ministry said the hardest hit area was the southern Odesa region where emergency services said they had provided assistance to nearly 2,500 people.

Authorities had earlier said the storms had left five people dead.