Russia says it has captured Ukraine’s Melitopol

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian troops have captured the city of Melitopol in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday, the first significant population centre to be taken over since Moscow launched an invasion.

The ministry also said Russia had used air- and ship-based cruise missiles to carry out overnight strikes on military targets in Ukraine.

It said Russian troops had hit hundreds of military infrastructure targets and destroyed several aircraft and dozens of tanks and armoured and artillery vehicles.

Ukrainian officials could not be immediately reached for comment on the matter.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov Editning by Sam Holmes and Mark Potter)