The city authorities of the occupied Mariupol reported the explosions in the city on May 26.
“An explosion in Mariupol! It is known in advance about a hit in the Azovstal region, there is a large column of smoke,” the city council said in a statement.
The city mayor’s adviser, Petro Andryushchenko, made public several photos, probably of explosions in the city.
“Two powerful explosions in the Azovstal region. Smoke rises. It came hard. Prior to that, an unsuccessful air defense operation was recorded over Nikolskyi,” he said.
The editors are currently unable to independently verify the information about the explosions in Mariupol.
Mariupol city government already reported the explosions in the city on May 19.
Mariupol was captured by Russian troops in May 2022 after almost three months of fierce fighting. During this time, a significant part of the buildings and other objects in the city were destroyed. The exact number of dead is unknown – estimates vary from several thousand to several tens of thousands.
Ukraine and international human rights organizations accuse Russia of numerous war crimes committed in Mariupol. Among them was the shelling of the maternity hospital and the attack on the Drama Theater, where people were hiding. The Ministry of Defense of Russia calls these accusations “fakes”.