UPDATE - One Person Killed, 1 Injured In Explosion In Zaporizhzhia Region - Local Authorities

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2023) One person was killed and another one injured when an explosive device went off near an apartment building in the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia Region early on Thursday, the city administration said.

"An explosion occurred near the entrance to an apartment building on Kirova Street in Melitopol at about 5:15 a.m. (02:15 GMT) today. An improvised explosive device went off. One person was injured, he was hospitalized," the administration said on Telegram.

Response teams are working at the scene, the local authorities added.

Later in the day, the Russian Internal Ministry's department in the Zaporizhzhia Region said that as a result of the explosion in Melitopol, one police officer had died and another one had been injured.

The explosion should be designated a terrorist act staged by the Ukrainian special services, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, told Sputnik.

Russia has considered the Zaporizhzhia Region to be part of its territory since September 30, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the region signed an agreement on its accession to the country, following a referendum in which an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.

Around 70% of the region is currently controlled by Russia, but Ukrainian troops are still holding the region's capital and biggest city, Zaporizhzhia.