Ukraine said Sunday a blast triggered by “local resistance movements” in the Moscow-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol the previous day killed Russian military officers at a headquarters of the occupation authorities.
Melitopol, with a pre-war population of around 150,000 people, was captured early after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year and now lies some dozens of miles behind the frontline further north.
“At least three officers of the Russian guard were eliminated” as a result of the “revenge action, carried out by representatives of the local resistance movement,” the intelligence service of Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Telegram.
AFP was not able to independently confirm the claims.
“The attack on the headquarters was carried out during the meeting of the (Russian security service) FSB and (Russian National Guard) Rosgvardia,” the same source added.
Melitopol is in Zaporizhzhia, one of the four regions — along with Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kherson — that Russia claims to have annexed without fully controlling them.
The exiled mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov on Saturday evening said residents reported an “explosion, which was heard in all corners of the city” and police cars speeding through the city.
Several Russian-linked officials have been killed in attacks in territories controlled by Moscow’s forces since the invasion began.