Ukrainian authorities have revealed at least 133 people have died in December due to sustained freezing temperatures that have dipped as low as -9 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 500 people have been hospitalized due to the cold in the past week.
Most of the dead are reported to have been homeless people who refused to take advantage of the nearly 3,000 heated tents authorities have made available to them.
The problem of homeless people and elderly dying in large numbers due to cold temperatures is a recurrent issue for Ukraine. Last winter saw over 100 people die in the same circumstances.
The Ukranian government is considering forming teams of law enforcement officers, doctors, and social workers to be dispatched in an effort to bring vulnerable people into the government-provided warm shelter spaces.
December was also a brutally cold month for Russia; similar numbers have died there as well.
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