A car bomb exploded Monday morning in Melitopol, injuring two, said the pro-Russian administration of this city in southern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, which accuses Kyiv of being behind this "attack".

“Around 8:00 a.m. a car bomb exploded in the center of the city,” wrote the administration of the city located near the Sea of ​​Azov, reporting two injuries, “volunteers who brought food 'humanitarian aid' aged 25 and 28.

An investigation is underway, according to this source.

"It is a cynical terrorist act by the kyiv regime, an act intended to frighten the inhabitants of our city, an act directed against civilians", accused Galina Danilchenko, the new mayor of the city installed by the Russian forces, quoted by the Russian agency Ria Novosti.

"It's a horrible situation, and the Kyiv regime cannot get used to the idea that the people of Melitopol don't want to have anything to do with this Kyiv power anymore, we want to live a new life, another life, a peaceful life,” she added.

Melitopol was conquered by Russian forces in the early days of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. On March 11, its mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was kidnapped by the Russians, before being released a few days later. A pro-Russian administration was then installed in the city.

On May 23, Andrei Shevtchik, the mayor installed by Moscow of Energodar, another city in southern Ukraine hosting the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, was injured in an explosion along with two of his bodyguards.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, a "homemade bomb" had been placed in an electrical cabinet in the entrance of a residential building.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was an "attack" by Ukrainian "nationalists".

The cities of Melitopol and Energodar belong to the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia, largely occupied by Moscow. It is close to that of Kherson, entirely under Russian control, whose annexation by Russia seems to be taking shape.

Russia's control of the Sea of ​​Azov coastline (Kherson, Zaporizhia and Donetsk), including the port of Mariupol, provides a land bridge to connect Russian territory with the Crimean peninsula, which it has annexed in 2014.