(Republicaninformer.com)- Over the weekend, Ukraine’s military struck a hotel complex in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol that housed dozens of Russian soldiers, reportedly using long-range artillery provided by the United States.
In a Telegram post on Saturday, exiled Melitopol mayor Ivan Federov said the hotel complex housed between 200 and 300 Russian soldiers, and dozens of them were killed or wounded in the strike.
Federov also said on Telegram that the wounded Russian soldiers were taken to nearby Crimea for medical treatment due to limited space in Melitopol’s hospitals. According to Federov, some ambulances were converted to morgues.
Federov’s reports, however, could not be independently confirmed.
According to Radio Free Europe, Ukrainian forces targeted the Russian-controlled city Saturday night, with missiles hitting hotels and restaurants on the outskirts of the city. The Russian-installed authorities said at least two people were killed and another ten were wounded in the attacks.
According to Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor of the Zaporizhzhya region, the Russian air defense systems destroyed two of the Ukrainian missiles while four reached their targets.
Footage of the burning hotel showed dead and wounded Russian soldiers among the wreckage, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal also reported that the hotel was about 50 miles from the Sea of Azov, just within range of the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
The Ukrainian military provided no specifics on Saturday’s attack, only saying the strikes were carried out using artillery and missiles and barracks were included in the targets that were hit.
Since October, Russian forces have unleashed missile attacks focusing on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, resulting in power shortages throughout the country.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than a million people in the Odesa region lost electricity after Russian airstrikes on Saturday.
Last week, the US announced it was providing $53 million to Ukraine to help restore the country’s energy infrastructure.
