Snow Causes Power Outages In Ukraine

A municipal worker shovels snow in Kyiv on December 29.

KYIV -- Several hundred towns and villages in Ukraine are without electricity due to heavy snowfall, RFE/RL's Ukrainian and Russian services report.

Some 674 towns and villages in six regions were left without electricity after power lines were damaged by snow and gale-force winds.

The Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Vinnytsya regions suffered the most severe damage.

Some 3,000 people with over 1,000 vehicles are working to restore power supplies.

Several highways and airports have been closed. Kyiv's Borispol airport is filled with stranded passengers as dozens of flights have been delayed.

The airport administration imposed additional safety measures following an incident on December 29.

A Wizz Air Ukraine plane on a flight from Italy skidded off the snowy runway after landing. The plane's engines were damaged, but none of the passengers was injured.