The Ukrainian army "
decommissioned
" overnight from Saturday to Sunday a Russian military base in Melitopol, a city in southern Ukraine controlled by Moscow forces, announced its mayor in exile.
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“
Today the Ukrainian military forces decommissioned one of the Russian military bases
” in the city, Ivan Fedorov said in a video posted on Telegram messaging.
“
At 03:00 a.m. and 05:00 a.m., 30 strikes targeted the military base exclusively
,” he added, adding that “
the city of Melitopol is covered in smoke
” and that “
it has been going on for several hours because a fuel depot that was on the burning base
”.
'No injuries'
A spokesman for the Ukrainian general staff had announced on Sunday morning that the Ukrainian air force had carried out about fifteen sorties, in particular in the region of Zaporijjia to which Melitopol belongs, and "
that about twenty equipment units enemy and two ammunition depots
" had been destroyed.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the pro-Russian administration in the region, indicated on Telegram that houses near the base had been damaged and that "
shells fell on the territory of the airfield
", while ensuring that "
there are no injuries
".
Ukrainian media released several videos from social media showing a huge column of smoke rising into the air near Melitopol.
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Melitopol was conquered by Russian forces in the early days of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine and a pro-Russian administration was quickly installed there.