Russian missiles have struck an aircraft repair plant in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, 50 miles from the border with Poland and a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Ukrainians.
Blasts were heard at about 6am on Friday, preceded by the sound of air raid sirens, as a mushroom-shaped plume of smoke could be seen rising in the sky.
Lviv’s mayor, Andriy Sadovy, said the civilian airport had not been hit and that authorities were assessing the situation and would issue updates.
Russian missiles hit aviation repair plant in #Lviv, a few miles from city centre. #Ukraine #war #Russia #Invasion #Putin pic.twitter.com/CNsOMQ1Rxw
— Lorenzo Tondo (@lorenzo_tondo) March 18, 2022
Emergency vehicles raced to the scene, while motorists were turned away at checkpoints, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.
The Ukrainian air force said the aircraft repair plant was struck by cruise missiles fired from the direction of the Black Sea and that other Russian missiles were reportedly shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defences before reaching their target.
The plant was not in operation at the time of the strike and so far no casualties have been reported, Sadovy said.
According to officials, the missiles – most likely Kh-555 weapons launched from heavy strategic bombers – had not directly hit Danylo Halytskyi airport in Lviv, where, before being closed after the invasion, passengers could fly to more than 50 international destinations, including Madrid, London, Paris, Milan, Venice, Catania and Barcelona.
Lviv, a Unesco world heritage site, had been largely untouched by Russian bombing until Friday, although many of its 700,000 inhabitants had feared an attack was a matter of time.
“Everybody knew sooner or later they would bomb Lviv,” said Maria Butkevych , 20, medical student from Kherson, who arrived in the city after the Russian invasion. “I’m still surprised that the airport is still standing. The Russians are closing in, but I’m not leaving again. I’ll stay here, until this war is over.”
The city has been described as the soul of Ukraine and a symbol of Ukrainian nationalism. Its citizens were among the strongest supporters of the country’s separation from the Soviet Union.
Since the Russian invasion began, Lviv has rapidly transformed into a garrison town. It is the centre of the country’s nationalist movement and, with its civil airport and military airfield, residents knew the town would have been in Russia’s sights.
During the advance of Russian troops on Kyiv, foreign embassies have been transferred to Lviv, with the city becoming the new diplomatic capital of Ukraine and centre of the western response.
Here, thousands of displaced people seeking shelter arrive every day at the railway station from eastern cities razed to the ground by airstrikes. There are at least 200,000 internally displaced people in Lviv, stretching the city’s capacity to its limits.
