The Mariupol City Council and Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, reported the information.
"There was an explosion in Mariupol! Preliminary information about the hit in the area of Azovstal, there is a large column of smoke," the city council wrote.
"Two powerful explosions near Azovstal. Smoke is rising. The strike was powerful. Before that, an unsuccessful air defense operation was recorded over Nikolske," Andriushchenko wrote.
The DPR militants reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck Mariupol with long-range missiles.
On the evening of Friday, May 19, an explosion occurred in the suburbs of Mariupol and near an airport.
After the explosions in Mariupol the day before, Russian troops relocated to the city of Novoazovsk, which is situated on the coast of the Azov Sea, east of Mariupol.
As a result of the explosions in Mariupol, 24 Russian soldiers were killed and 37 others suffered injuries of varying severity.