At least 341 people have been hospitalized as a result of the cold, most of them suffering from frostbite and various stages of hypothermia, the ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry's figures, 181 people died and 2,271 people have been hospitalized as a result of the cold since last Saturday, several days after temperatures first began to plunge in the east of the country.

The cold snap began to let up across Ukraine on Wednesday and the thaw was expected to continue into the weekend, forecasters said.

Like neighboring Russia, Ukraine was gripped by severe temperatures starting last week, with the mercury dipping to minus 35 Celsius (minus 31 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country.

The Arctic temperatures have closed schools and mines and have strained the nation's heating and electricity system.

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