In Melitopol, Russians use cars with Pelena EW system to block mobile phones, protect against explosive devices

The head of Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Ivan Fedorov said that Russians are turning the temporarily occupied territories into a militarized gray zone

He wrote about this on Telegram.

He reminded that hundreds of thousands of Russian army servicemen are settled in the cities and villages of the temporarily occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region. Dozens of training grounds for Russian cannon fodder are located in the Russian-occupied Ukraine.

"In the occupied cities, not only UAVs are being assembled, but also antennas for electronic warfare systems, and the military who previously participated in hostilities are involved in this process. In Melitopol, cars equipped with the Pelena electronic warfare system, which is used to protect against radio-controlled explosive devices and to block cell phones," the head of Zaporizhzhia region wrote. 

He noted that Russians want to turn the temporarily occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region into a large military training ground.

• On March 19, it was reported that Russians filmed a propaganda story about three residents of Melitopol who were tortured into confessing to "espionage" and imprisoned.
• On March 20, it was reported that Russians were conducting searches in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, seizing books by Ukrainian writers and looking for those who might be collaborating with the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
• On March 27, Russian security forces detained a 34-year-old resident of the temporarily occupied Melitopol for comments on a Telegram channel he wrote back in 2022.