diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index bd11a61..8e7f0ed 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ ENV OPENVPN_OPTS=
 ENV CONNECTION_TYPE=tcp
 ENV LAN_NETWORK=
 ENV CREATE_TUN_DEVICE=
+ENV OVPN_CONFIGS=
 HEALTHCHECK --interval=60s --timeout=10s --start-period=30s CMD curl -L 'https://ipinfo.io'
 COPY startup.sh .
 RUN apk add --update --no-cache openvpn wget unzip coreutils curl && chmod +x ./startup.sh
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c1ec87c..fa2c297 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ The container is configurable using 5 environment variables:
 |CONNECTION_TYPE|No|The connection type that you want to use: tcp, udp|
 |LAN_NETWORK|No|Lan network used to access the web ui of attached containers. Can be comma seperated for multiple subnets Comment out or leave blank: example 192.168.0.0/24|
 |CREATE_TUN_DEVICE|No|Creates the TUN device, useful for NAS users|
+|OVPN_CONFIGS|No|Manually provide "Surfshark_Config.zip" file (contains surfshark OpenVPN configuration files)
 
 `SURFSHARK_USER` and `SURFSHARK_PASSWORD` are provided at this page: [https://my.surfshark.com/vpn/manual-setup/main](https://my.surfshark.com/vpn/manual-setup/main).
 
@@ -103,6 +104,31 @@ If you want access to an attached container's web ui you will also need to expos
 
 If you face network connection problems, I suggest you to set a specific DNS server for each container.
 
+## Provide OpenVPN Configs Manually
+
+Sometimes the startup.sh script fails to download OpenVPN configs file from https://my.surfshark.com/vpn/api/v1/server/configurations. Possibly this happens due to some form of DDoS protection on surfshark's website. The following helped me resolve the problem:
+
+1. Go to https://surfshark.com.
+2. Click the "Log in" button.
+3. This will display the "checking browser security" screen (typical DDoS protection middleware).
+4. Once you're on https://my.surfshark.com/home/dashboard, paste https://my.surfshark.com/vpn/api/v1/server/configurations into your browser's URL bar, this will download the `Surfshark_Config.zip` file. Save the file somewhere.
+
+   Typically, these DDoS protection middlewares will set some sort of cookie if the check is successful. This makes it possible to reach the target URL via the browser.
+5. Create docker volume: `docker volume create surfshark-config`.
+6. Find where it's located at: `docker volume inspect surfshark-config` ("Mountpoint" field).
+
+   In my case it's: `/var/lib/docker/volumes/surfshark-config/_data`
+
+7. Copy `Surfshark_Config.zip` to it:
+
+   `sudo cp Surfshark_Config.zip /var/lib/docker/volumes/surfshark-config/_data`
+
+8. Run the container with appropriate options:
+
+   `-v surfshark-config:/ovpn-configs` (mount the volume)
+
+   `-e OVPN_CONFIGS=/ovpn-configs/Surfshark_Config.zip` (specify environment variable)
+
 ## Do you like my work?
 <p align="center">
     <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ilteoood">
diff --git a/startup.sh b/startup.sh
index b748743..1d32ca9 100644
--- a/startup.sh
+++ b/startup.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 rm -rf ovpn_configs*
-wget -O ovpn_configs.zip https://my.surfshark.com/vpn/api/v1/server/configurations
-unzip ovpn_configs.zip -d ovpn_configs
+if [ -z "${OVPN_CONFIGS}" ]; then
+  wget -O ovpn_configs.zip https://my.surfshark.com/vpn/api/v1/server/configurations
+  OVPN_CONFIGS=ovpn_configs.zip
+fi
+unzip "${OVPN_CONFIGS}" -d ovpn_configs
 cd ovpn_configs
 VPN_FILE=$(ls "${SURFSHARK_COUNTRY}"* | grep "${SURFSHARK_CITY}" | grep "${CONNECTION_TYPE}" | shuf | head -n 1)
 echo Chose: ${VPN_FILE}