A storm has left more than two thousand towns and villages in war-torn Ukraine without power Monday, the government said, piling pressure on the country's fragile power grid.

The energy infrastructure has been targeted systematically by Russian forces and Kyiv has warned that Moscow is preparing fresh strikes on key facilities this winter.

"In total, 2,019 settlements in 16 regions are cut off from the grid," the interior ministry said.

In the southern city of Odesa, which has been subjected to repeated Russian strikes, authorities said they had helped 1,624 people who had been trapped due to snow.

Regional authorities said the temperature had fallen to below freezing with reports of gusts of up to 72 kilometers (44 miles) per hour.

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