Mass explosion in Melitopol; Russians defend Kherson; There's no giving up;

Mass explosion in Melitopol; Russians defend Kherson; There's no giving up;

Ukraine's Southern Operations Command said Ukrainian forces destroyed three Russian ammunition depots in the south of the country on October 24, killing 40 Russian soldiers and destroying three tanks, an Osa anti-aircraft missile system and six armored vehicles.

Ukrainian forces also reportedly shot down an Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle and an Iranian-made Shahed-131 kamikaze drone in the Kherson region.

Attack on Melitopol

Ukrainians: "We are closer to victory"

A powerful explosion in Melitopol

In Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region (which declared its accession to Russia in a referendum), a powerful explosion rang out, the city administration announced.

The explosion echoed in the southern part of the city.

According to the Sputnik source, a car exploded near the television building.

Ukrainians are not backing down

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in a new daily report that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks near Bilohorivka in Luhansk region and Bakhmut, Bilohorivka, Verkhnokamyanska, Ivangrad, Klishchivka, Spirno, Soledar, Marinka and Nevelska in Donetsk region.

In the last 24 hours, Russia carried out 12 airstrikes against Ukraine, along with 60 attacks with multi-barrel missile systems, the General Staff announced.

Ukrainian forces repel Russian attacks near 10 settlements, it also said.

NATO warned Russia

Russia must not escalate the conflict in Ukraine with false claims that Kyiv is planning to drop a so-called "dirty bomb", warned the head of NATO.

Jens Stoltenberg commented on Moscow's claims that Ukraine could deploy such weapons, raising fears that Russia could use them and blame Kyiv.

Stoltenberg said he spoke with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace "about Russia's false claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory."

"NATO allies reject this accusation. Russia must not use it as an excuse for escalation. We remain firm in our support for Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter.