There are more Russian soldiers than locals in temporarily occupied Melitopol - Mayor

This was announced by Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov during a telethon.

According to him, Russian enemy has turned the city into its logistics centre.

"There are 60,000-70,000 civilians left in Melitopol. People say that there are more Russian soldiers than civilians. The Russian enemy chose Melitopol as its logistics centre and that's why there are so many military there. These are not only those who are at the front. There are also those who are responsible for suppressing resistance," stressed Fedorov.

He noted that the governor of the occupied part of the region, Yevhen Balytskyi, ordered the creation of another "volunteer formation", but no one is in a hurry to join it.

The invaders have also started another wave of military registration, setting up "military desks" at enterprises to mobilise local residents into their army.

"Previously, they set up a fake military registration and enlistment office and forced everyone to register for military service with subsequent mobilisation and conscription, and now they have set up so-called military desks at enterprises. That is, at enterprises with more than two employees, everyone must be registered for military service," said Fedorov.

In addition, the city continues to carry out forced passport issuance and exerts strong pressure on people. In the temporarily occupied Melitopol alone, Russian forces have taken more than 1,000 people captive. There is information that the prisoners are being sent to dig trenches and fortifications, he said.

• On 1 July, Fedorov noted that new Russian army units were arriving in the temporarily occupied Melitopol and Henichesk. Russian enemy is also transporting equipment towards Zaporizhzhia region through the Arabat Spit.
• Instead, on 2 July, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were advancing in the Melitopol and Berdyansk directions with heavy fighting.