Russian soldiers patrol a street in occupied Melitopol on May 1, 2022. (Getty Images)
A loud explosion has been heard in the village of Zarichne near the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, exiled Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov reported on July 9.
The explosion allegedly happened in a hangar that has been turned into a Russian military base.
Melitopol, which had a pre-war population of about 150,000 people, was occupied shortly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
It serves as a railway hub for the Russian army in southern Ukraine to move military equipment.
Melitopol is also a part of the land bridge that connects Russia to the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
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