Explosions rocked near Mariupol airport

Explosions thundered near the airport of occupied Mariupol, TASS reported to the pro-Russian law enforcement agencies of the Donetsk region.

“Several explosions took place in the southwestern part of Mariupol near the old airport. The causes and consequences are being clarified, ”said the interlocutor of the state agency.

The explosion occurred near the Nevsky district, the Mariupol Now telegram channel reported. He was visited by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March.

The war correspondent of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Andrei Rudenko reported that four rockets landed in the area of ​​the airport in Mariupol. According to him, there were no casualties. It is not yet known what missiles hit, specialists are working on the spot, he wrote.

Officially, the Russian and Ukrainian military have not yet commented on the explosion.

As a result of the strike on Mariupol, the positions of Russian troops at the airport were hit, the telegram channel of the pro-Ukrainian city council of Mariupol reported. Under the blow, according to preliminary data, there is a 150-person military base, which “was systematically used to install air defense systems,” said Petr Andryushchenko, legal adviser to the mayor of the city.

RBC reports that the airport near which the explosion took place has not been operational since 2014. Currently, its reconstruction is underway, which should be completed in 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said in March.

A source in the Mariupol administration told the pro-Russian newspaper Izvestiya that the explosion took place on the outskirts of the city. According to him, the air defense system worked.

In May, Ukraine received Storm Shadow long-range missiles from the UK, capable of hitting targets up to 250 km away. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have already used them during the attack on Lugansk. As the authorities of the self-proclaimed LPR informed, the Ukrainian army attacked the city with two rockets, located 85 km from the front line. Later UK Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace confirmed that Ukraine had submitted the application StormShadow.