Rescue efforts are underway in Lviv, Ukraine, following a Russian missile strike that killed four people and injured dozens, marking a significant attack on civilian infrastructure in the UNESCO-protected city.
Rescue workers were meanwhile clawing through rubble in the UNESCO-protected western Ukrainian city of Lviv, which was hit by a Russian missile early Thursday that killed four and injured dozens more.
Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko’s comments came hours after what Lviv’s mayor said was the most significant attack on civilian infrastructure in the city since the start of the Russian invasion last February.
While Russia regularly pounds Ukraine with missiles, artillery, and drones, the Lviv region in the west, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines and near the Polish border, has largely been spared the aerial onslaughts.
The US embassy in Ukraine described the attack as “vicious” and tweeted, “Russia’s repeated attacks on civilians are absolutely horrifying.”
Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram that the missiles had struck a residential building.
At least four people had been killed in the attack, and 32 were wounded, including a child, the emergency services said later, updating an initial toll.
Zelensky said on social media that “Russian terrorists” were responsible for the destruction, adding: “There will be a response to the enemy. A tangible one.”
On June 20, Lviv was hit by a significant Russian drone assault targeting other cities, including Kyiv.
Ukraine has recently bolstered its air defense systems with Western-supplied weapons, and the number of Russian missiles and drones breaking through has diminished.
But Ukraine’s air force spokesman, Yuriy Ignat, recently said that newly supplied systems were insufficient to cover the whole country.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
