Powerful explosions were heard in the occupied Mariupol in the Azovstal area.

Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, published several photos featuring the explosions.

“Two powerful explosions in the Azovstal region. Smoke rises. Harsh strikes. In addition, an unsuccessful air defense operation was recorded over Mykilske,” he said.

Mariupol was occupied by Russian troops in May 2022 after nearly three months of intense fighting.

During this time, a significant part of the buildings and other objects in the city was destroyed. The exact number of dead is unknown – estimates vary from several thousand to tens of thousands.

Ukraine and international human rights organizations accuse Russia of numerous war crimes committed in Mariupol.

Currently, the Russian army uses Mariupol as its military base, especially the port.

On May 19, powerful explosions also were heard in the suburbs of occupied Mariupol and near the airport.

Russian sources reported that four unidentified missiles had allegedly been launched.

As previously reported, the UK has confirmed the supply of Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles to Ukraine. The declared operational range of this cruise missile is more than 250 km.

“All I can say is that, as far as I understand, they (Storm Shadow missiles – ed.) were used after we announced their delivery to Ukraine. But I’m not going to go into further details,” UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated recently.

Wallace also added that the weapons systems provided to Ukraine by Western allies were “powerful” and “important.”