A Tiger armored vehicle of Russian invaders exploded on the outskirts of the temporarily occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The press service of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported on this.

Inside the vehicle were Kadyrovites, who are part of the occupying contingent of the Russian Federation on the captured territories.

“On April 3, 2025, a Tigr armored vehicle of Russian invaders exploded on the outskirts of the temporarily occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region. Inside were the enemy crew and the landing party of the Vostok-Akhmat invasion unit,” the report states.

Ukrainian intelligence claims that at least five Kadyrovites were killed as a result of the explosion. No details about the operation, including who or what weapon was used to carry out the explosion, have been disclosed.

The Vostok-Akhmat battalion is a Russian military unit that is part of the Russian Ministry of Defense, formed in September 2022 by order of Ramzan Kadyrov.

The soldiers of the battalion are participating in the aggressive war against Ukraine. They are part of the Russian occupying contingent in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Undermining the invaders

On March 20, a Nissan vehicle carrying Russian officers exploded in the Russian-occupied city of Skadovsk, the Kherson region.

“The Russian car was reduced to a pile of twisted metal,” the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine statement said.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine also vowed that “for every war crime committed against the Ukrainian people, there will be fair retribution.”

Ukrainian Special Services have frequently targeted cars carrying Russian officials or individuals linked to Moscow’s administration in occupied territories and inside Russia.

Neither side often claims responsibility for these explosions. Also, the Ukrainian side usually does not comment on such incidents officially, but sometimes hints at the involvement of the Resistance Forces.