Explosions were reported in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol Friday evening, according to social media video and officials on both the Ukrainian and Russian-backed sides. It is unclear exactly what caused the explosions.
The deposed Mariupol City Council said in a post on Telegram that there were strikes at the steel plant Azovstal that is now under Russian control.
"We are waiting for some good news," the council said in the social media post.
Meanwhile, there was shelling coming from the Ukrainian-held side Friday evening, according to the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) Joint Center for Control and Coordination.
The center said Ukraine's military launched two long-range rockets at Mariupol from the northwest around 8:10 p.m. (1:10 p.m. ET).
Social media videos posted by unofficial accounts show a smoke plume seen above Mariupol. A local Mariupol Telegram channel posted an image of a strike on Mariupol, which CNN has geolocated to the site of the Azovstal steel plant.
Mariupol has become an important staging point for Russian forces in southern Ukraine, and Russian military convoys frequently pass through.
CNN's Tim Lister contributed reporting to this post.