Winter crop areas from central and northern Ukraine into central Russia remained covered by 10 to 60 cm of snow.
Southern portions of Russia’s Southern District (Krasnodar Krai), which had been devoid of snow cover, benefited from 2 to 5 cm of snowfall during the period.
Nevertheless, minimum temperatures (-16 to -11°C) posed no threat to dormant winter wheat in areas where the snow was shallow and patchy.
(Not sure why USDA weather update are not picking up on the lack of snow in southern Ukraine, see post below)