A powerful explosion at one of the headquarters of the Russian military in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol killed at least three Russian officers, Ukraine's military intelligence, known under its Ukrainian acronym HUR, reported on Nov. 12.
HUR said that the blast was a "revenge action" carried out by "representatives of the local resistance movement" on Nov. 11. The alleged headquarters was at a former office of Nova Poshta, a private Ukrainian postal service.
HUR said it is finding out whether there were more casualties, besides the three Russian National Guard officers.
The attack reportedly occurred during a meeting between the members of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian National Guard, according to HUR.
The Russian Defense Ministry, security service FSB, and the Russian National Guard haven't publicly reacted to the reported attack thus far.
Ukraine's report of the blast comes as Ukrainian forces continue a counteroffensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast and on two axes of the eastern Donetsk Oblast. While the progress of the costly operation launched in June has been slow, Ukraine has actively struck military targets deep into Russian-occupied territories.
The exiled mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, had reported that his sources informed him of a loud explosion in the occupied city at around 7 p.m. on Nov. 11.
While much of the events in occupied territories remain difficult to understand due to how dangerous it is for the remaining Ukrainian residents to reveal on-the-ground information, exiled local officials such as Fedorov usually have sources in the occupied city.
Fedorov said in a follow-up Telegram report, citing local residents, that the occupying authorities have blocked traffic between two local plants that were turned into military bases. It's not clear whether it was directly connected to the blast.
The Kyiv Independent isn't able to independently verify these reports.
Igor Kossov
