A cold wave in Ukraine killed eight and left hundreds requiring treatment for frostbite, the Interfax news agency reported Saturday. Temperatures in the east of the country dropped to 30 degrees below zero Centigrade. Victims included three inhabitants of the Kharkiv region, two in the Cherkassy region, and three in the Rivne region, according to DPA. Most killed by the cold were pension-age Ukrainians living in rural villages without central heating. Two persons reportedly were homeless. Hospitals in the Kiev, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv treated more than 200 persons for frostbite of varying severity. Most were persons with outdoor jobs, the report said. The Siberian air mass arrived in Ukraine on Friday. Besides deaths and frostbite injuries, the cold front has left thousands without power or heat due to downed power lines, and its snowstorms cut major highways. January temperatures in Ukraine average between five positive, and minus five degrees Centigrade.
