Mayor: Explosion reported near Russian-occupied Melitopol.
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[1] 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.
Natalia Datskevych
Natalia Datskevych is a business reporter at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, she worked as business reporter for the Kyiv Post.
She studied economic theory at Kyiv National Economic University and holds a Ph.D in economic science.