Mariupol police refute overnight explosion claims

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry department in the Donetsk region has refuted the alleged overnight explosion in Mariupol.

"We have no official confirmation of this so far. The police have not been informed about this event. City emergency services which the Ukrainian Interior Ministry department in the Donetsk region has contacted have no such information either," the department said in a report posted on Tuesday.

The Mariupol city portal '0629' claimed a loud bang which sounded like an explosion early on Tuesday morning. "City residents woke up to an abrupt sound which resembled an explosion at about 2:16 a.m. on Tuesday. The sound set off car alarms in the city center," the report said.