At least six people were killed and eight others injured in “powerful” Russian strikes on Lviv, the major city in western Ukraine usually relatively spared from the fighting, local authorities said. “Five powerful one-shot missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of the old European city of Lviv,” announced on Twitter Mikhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky. The regional governor, Maksym Kozitsky, mentioned four strikes: three on military infrastructure and one on a tire garage, causing fires. All are “severely damaged”.
Five powerful missile strikes at once on the civilian infrastructure of the old European Lviv. The Russians continue barbarically attacking Ukrainian cities from the air, cynically declaring to the whole world their “right” to… kill Ukrainians.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) April 18, 2022
“At this time, we have identified six dead and eight injured. There is a child among the victims,” he added. A resident of southwest Lviv told AFP he saw thick plumes of gray smoke rising into the sky behind apartment buildings. Andriï, 21, said he heard the anti-bombing sirens around 8 a.m. (6 a.m. GMT). “I slept during the first three strikes, but when the last one fell, it was as if my windows were going to explode. And the furniture moved,” he testifies.
“Barbarian” attacks
The mayor of the city, Andriï Sadovy, confirmed the strikes, indicating on Telegram that help was on the spot. Ukrainian railways, for their part, indicated on Telegram that “several missiles fell near the railway installations”, without causing any casualties and without hindering traffic. “We will repair our damaged infrastructure. The railway continues to operate,” said the chairman of the board of directors of the company, Alexandre Kamychine, publishing the photo of burning houses directly near a railway line.
“The Russians continue to barbarically attack Ukrainian cities from the air, cynically declaring to the world their ‘right’ to… kill Ukrainians,” Mikhailo Podoliak said.
Lviv rarely touched
Located far from the front, Lviv and western Ukraine have rarely been targeted by bombardments since the start of theRussian invasion on February 24. On March 26, Lviv suffered a series of Russian strikes, two of which hit a fuel depot and injured five, according to local authorities. The city had also been the target on March 18 of a strike which had hit an aircraft repair factory near the airport, without causing any casualties.
On March 13, Russian cruise missiles targeted a major military base about 40 kilometers northwest of Lviv, killing at least 35 people and injuring 134. Close to the Polish border, Lviv has become a city of refuge for displaced persons and at the start of the war hosted several Western embassies transferred from kyiv.