UPDATE - Air Raid Sirens Go Off After Explosions In Ukraine-Controlled Zaporizhzhia - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2022) Several blasts occurred in the Ukraine-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia late on Saturday night, Ukrainian media report.

Air raid sirens went off in the region after reports of explosions in Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukrainian news portal Strana.ua.

According to air raid data from Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, air raid warnings were also in effect in the Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions shortly after midnight Saturday.

Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, said on Telegram that there were two waves of explosions in Zaporizhzhia overnight.

"Loud night in Zaporizhzhia! Today at about 22.57 (19:57 GMT on Saturday) a series of explosions sounded. Then the siren went off. The second wave of explosions began at around 00.37. The siren traditionally howled after the first (blast)," Rogov said.

He specified that, according to preliminary information, the strikes, carried out using multiple launch rocket systems, targeted military equipment and ammunition depots.

Local residents said there had never been such a large number of explosions in the city.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.

On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.