Ukraine strikes at Melitopol railway depot

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian army attacked a railway depot in Russian-occupied Melitopol, far from the front line. Following the attack, power was cut in the city.
The administration of the Russian occupation authorities of the annexed part of the Zaporizhzhia region is located in Melitopol.Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, who headed the city administration before the Russian occupation, confirmed the explosions in the city.Reuters refers to photos and videos of explosions lighting up the night sky over Melitopol, but writes that it cannot yet confirm this information from independent sources. Reuters also cites information from the Russian governmentMedia about damage to the Melitopol railway depot and power outages in the city and nearby villages.Melitopol, where around 150,000 people lived during the Russian invasion, is a major rail logistics hub for Russian troops in southern Ukraine and part of an occupied land corridor linking Russia with the occupied peninsula of Crimea.A strike on Melitopol could hamper Moscow’s logistics as Kiev prepares to launch a counterattack against Russian forces who have failed to score big in a months-long offensive despite the bloodiest battle of the war, the battle of Bakhmut.Information about the weapons that Ukraine might use to strike is not yet in the public domain. But Reuters writes that the Melitopol facilities are within range of MLRS HIMARS already transferred to Ukraine, and within range of new weapons supplied by the United States to Ukraine, which include JDAM smart bombs – high-precision glide bombs with a range of up to 72 km. , and ground-based GLSDB bombs, with a range of up to 150 km.Melitopol is south of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located on the Russian-occupied side of the Kakhovka Reservoir, along which the front line runs. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, who is calling for a safe zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, was due to inspect the plant on Wednesday. Previously, he had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyy.