Russian troops have captured the city of Melitopol in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, Russia's defence ministry (MoD) said on Saturday, the first significant population centre to be taken over since Moscow launched an invasion.
On 25 February 2022, Russian forces entered Melitopol. According to local governor Oleksandr Starukh, shells hit apartment buildings and intensive street fighting occurred.
Around 10 to 11 a.m., an armoured attack occurred that resulted in a fire and left vehicle trails as well as burnt cars. According to unofficial sources, the local city council was shelled and a screenshot of camera footage showed tanks rolling onto the city's main street.
During the battle, Russian forces fired at a hospital in the city, killing 4 people and injuring 10.
The city's leadership surrendered the city later on 25 February, with Russian forces fully occupying the city. Some small-scale fighting continued in Melitopol into the evening.
The Russian MoD added that Russian troops had hit hundreds of military infrastructure targets and destroyed several aircraft and dozens of tanks and armoured and artillery vehicles.
Ukrainian officials could not be immediately reached for comment on the matter.
