Melitopol Mayor reports explosions at temporary Russian base

Explosions were heard in the village of Vesele near the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast late on April 6, exiled Mayor Ivan Fedorov said on national television, cited by Ukrainska Pravda publication.

According to Fedorov, Russian troops had been transferring their equipment and personnel to the village in the previous four days.

"The enemy tried to do this while mobile communications and the Internet were turned off in the village so that our residents could not report anything to Ukraine's Armed Forces and special services. But they didn't manage to hide it (the transfer of equipment)," said Fedorov, who is now in Ukrainian-controlled territory and reports based on sources in Melitopol.

Earlier this week, explosions were heard near the Melitopol airport, where Russian forces had brought "a lot of their extremely important cargo" by helicopters, according to Fedorov.

"But in one night, all this cargo exploded. And it's gone. And this situation is already the second week in a row, which sows panic among the occupiers," added the mayor.

Explosions occur regularly in Meltipol and other Russian-occupied cities of Ukraine where partisan movement is active, targeting local collaborators or reportedly destroying Russian military equipment and personnel. Moscow usually blames Ukraine for such incidents, while Kyiv doesn't take responsibility for the explosions.

Melitopol, a city with a population of about 150,000 people, has been occupied since late February 2022. The city serves as a railway center for Russian forces in southern Ukraine and is part of the land bridge that links Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Russian state media: Partisans target collaborator in Melitopol.

Explosions reported in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on March 23 were the attempt of Ukrainian partisans to blow up a Russian collaborator’s car, according to Russian state-controlled media.

Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk