LVIV, Ukraine (Washington Insider Magazine) – Several missiles targeted Lviv on Monday, killing at least 7 people, according to local authorities, extending Russia’s conflict into a western Ukrainian region which has become a shelter for those fleeing from the east and a vital supply and logistical hub.
According to Ukrainian authorities, missiles hit 3 military locations and a tire-fitting facility. According to Maksym Kozytskyy, the regional governor, at least 7 individuals died and 11 others were wounded. According to him, a child was among the casualties, and the structures were seriously harmed.
While residents rushed rapidly to put out the fires, the strike served as a stark warning that Russian forces will continue to endanger the whole nation, whilst the Kremlin tries to focus its effort on Ukraine’s east.
At a press conference, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said that there are now “unsafe locations in Ukraine,” pointing out that Russian airstrikes hit a civilian garage along with military targets.
Russia has stated that it aims to intensify its strikes on Kyiv and supply routes in the region’s west as it prepares to launch a massive operation in the eastern Donbas area.
This city is essential to such supply networks, as well as a transit route for Ukrainian citizens and a center for foreign authorities, humanitarian groups, and journalists.
NBC News heard 2 missile strikes and witnessed two more, but the number of people killed and the number of missiles fired have not been confirmed.
The roar of warplanes was the first sign of the missiles, which in itself is rare here because few planes have passed over the region since the conflict began. NBC News was also able to view the missiles, which seemed to be 2 jets falling from the sky until muffled explosions were reported and smoke poured from the impact locations.
The regional governor, Kozytskyy, informed journalists that the missiles looked to have been fired from warplanes to the southeast. He added it was unknown if the garage was a planned target.
The missiles looked to have hit near the Lviv railway station, which is now the epicenter of Ukraine’s massive effort to transport supplies and people throughout the nation and beyond.
Since the beginning of the conflict, hundreds of people have gathered at the train station every day, several of them desperately waiting for a train traveling west to begin their lives as refugees, or to see family members who had arrived to rejoin them in Lviv, where life has been relatively quiet until recently.
Despite the fact that trains were temporarily halted and people sought refuge in shelters, the train station swiftly reopened and railways resumed normal service, while the sirens wailed.
In Lviv, air strike sirens are frequently heard, but residents have learned to avoid them and continue about their daily lives.
Monday’s allegedly powerful strike, on the other hand, gave those loud warnings a new angle, as many people looked to the skies for further attacks on a city they had thought was secure from Russian invasion.
