Russia launches air attacks against Ukraine’s western Lviv city

Lviv’s mayor says one person was reported injured so far and a warehouse damaged in the early morning aerial attacks by Russia.

Smoke rises over the city of Lviv, Ukraine, after Russian missile strikes.
In this image from November 2022, smoke rises over Lviv city after a Russian aerial attack [Pavlo Palamarchuk/Reuters]

The western Ukrainian city of Lviv was rocked by early morning explosions as air defences engaged in stopping waves of Russian air attacks, local officials said.

The city’s mayor, Andriy Sadoviy, wrote on the Telegram messaging app early on Tuesday that “air defences are operating in our region”, and warned residents to seek shelter.

Ukraine’s Air Force wrote on Telegram that “the threat of Shahed [Iranian-made drones] remains in the Lviv region. Air defences are operating”.

Western Ukraine came under an air raid alert starting at about 00:00 GMT. According to reports, several waves of drones attempted to hit targets in Lviv city starting at about 01:30 GMT with numerous explosions heard as air defences intercepted the incoming unmanned aerial vehicles.

Sadoviy later reported that a fire at an industrial warehouse had broken out and emergency services were tackling the blaze. Initial reports were of one person injured, he said.

“So far, only one person has been injured in the attack,” the mayor said on Telegram, adding that a man in his mid-20s was found under the rubble of a warehouse and transported to hospital.

The scale of the attack and full extent of the damage were not immediately known. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

The head of the Lviv region’s military administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, said that two people, a man and a woman, were rescued from beneath rubble in the city.

“The woman is initially believed to have no injuries. The man is in a serious condition,” he said, adding that the city received the all-clear from air raids at 03:00 GMT.

Though far from the front lines of fighting in the east and south of Ukraine, Lviv has come under deadly Russian missile and drone attacks that have targeted civilian infrastructure and residential buildings leading to considerable damage and loss of life among city residents.

 

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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