At least six people, including a 95-year-old woman, were killed when a Russian rocket struck an apartment building in western Ukraine's Lviv.
In what the mayor of Lviv characterized as "one of the largest attacks" on the city's civilian infrastructure, forty more people were injured. According to Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, 35 structures were damaged during the nocturnal strike.
Statea-run Russian television reported that a military academy was struck. Earlier, the Russian defense ministry issued a statement claiming that "long-range precision weapons" launched from the sea had been used to strike temporary Ukrainian troop deployment sites and depots storing foreign-made armored vehicles. According to Mr. Kozytskyi, there is a sanctuary adjacent to the residence that was hit by the missile. The door had been opened and in excellent condition when the alarm sounded. However, only five people were present in the entire shelter. Very disappointing.
A witness identified as Olya told the sources that she was awakened by the first explosion, but had no time to flee the apartment before hearing the second explosion. "The ceiling started to fall," she said. She also mentioned that her mother was struck instantly, and she was knee-deep in rubble after jumping out of the way. She attempted to contact her mother, but was unable to do so. She then climbed to the window and began to shriek. Within half an hour, rescuers arrived and took her to the hospital. She returned home to discover that my mother and neighbors had passed away.
When she heard the air raid alarm, Dr. Sasha Dovzhyk, an employee of the Ukrainian Institute in London, hid in her bathroom.
She told sources about the proper course of action in the Ukrainian routine. Two barriers, preferably with no windows or glass, should be constructed between you and the street. The walls in the bathroom where she was hiding shook when the rocket or missile, which was a Kalibr missile, struck an apartment complex two kilometers distant, indicating that the impact was quite powerful.
The Ukrainian air force claimed that Russia launched the missiles from the Black Sea. The Ukrainian Armed Forces announced via Telegram that seven out of ten Kalibr cruise missiles had been intercepted. It was reported that the missiles, launched from the Black Sea, were initially headed north but then "abruptly changed course" and struck Lviv.
Russia has been attacking Ukrainian cities with lethal missiles and drones for months, frequently striking civilian targets and causing widespread blackouts. Last week, 13 people, including children, were murdered when a restaurant and shopping center were bombed in Kramatorsk, an eastern Ukrainian city close to Russian-occupied territory. Although Lviv is located in western Ukraine, relatively far from the front lines in the south and east, it has also been attacked by Russian forces in the past.
Last month, Lviv officials reported that a drone attack had damaged the city's vital infrastructure.
