Smoke rises after an explosion of a building in this still image taken from a video released by Ukrainian military, which according to them shows Russian army position set up near a private house being attacked, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Vojev
Smoke rises after an explosion of a building in this still image taken from a video released by Ukrainian military, which according to them shows Russian army position set up near a private house being attacked, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Vojevodivka, Luhansk region, Ukraine, released May 26, 2022. Reuters / SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES COMMAN

KEY POINTS

  • Ukrainian forces destroyed a large Russian military base in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol
  • The base was in the territory of the city's Avtokolorlyt plant, which produced metals for vehicles, among other things
  • "Something has happened" to the Russians every day for three weeks already, according to Melitopol's mayor

The Ukrainian military struck a Russian military base in Ukraine's mostly-occupied Zaporizhzhia region, according to a Ukrainian official.

Loud explosions were heard in Melitopol, Ukraine, at around 1 a.m. Sunday, Ivan Fedorov, the Russian-occupied city's Ukrainian mayor, said in a statement posted on Telegram.

The blasts were also heard in Myrne, a village in Zaporizhzhia's neighboring Kherson region, according to Fedorov.

In an interview that was broadcast on the Ukrainian television channel Freedom, Fedorov said that one of the largest Russian military bases in the territory of Melitopol's Avtokolorlyt industrial plant was destroyed in the aftermath of the explosions. The plant reportedly produced non-ferrous metals for vehicles, tractors and agricultural machinery.

A building in the village of Myrne that was used to prepare for a future referendum in Melitopol to decide whether or not the city should join Russia was also destroyed following the morning explosions, Fedorov said, citing preliminary information.

Fedorov said in the interview that the Ukrainian army was responsible for the attack that destroyed the Russian military base and the Myrne building, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.

The house of Yuriy Radkov, the village commander and a known Russian collaborator, was damaged as well, Fedorov revealed during another televised interview.

"We can say one thing for sure – the occupiers on Ukrainian land are, to put it mildly, uncomfortable and they are not welcome here," Fedorov said in the interview.

"Something has happened to them every day for three weeks. We are waiting for a gesture of goodwill – they must leave the temporarily occupied territories [in Ukraine]," he added.

More loud explosions, as well as Russian gunfire, were heard in the northern part of Melitopol Sunday night, Fedorov said in a more recent statement.

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Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as Ukraine's annexed Crimean Peninsula, were left without electricity, water and communication Saturday, according to Fedorov.

Infrastructure facilities connected with the centralized heating system are being destroyed in an effort to blame the Ukrainian armed forces and authorities for disrupting the heating season, he claimed.

In Berdyansk and Melitopol, Moscow is laying the groundwork for a future with Russia
In Berdyansk and Melitopol, Moscow is laying the groundwork for a future with Russia AFP / Andrey BORODULIN