Russia attacks for the first time Lviv, 70 km from Poland and a destination for thousands of refugees
Several missiles hit an aircraft repair plant in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, destroying its building, the city’s mayor, Andriy Sadovy, said Friday morning. The plant had been crippled and there were no casualties from the bombing. Ukraine’s military said the plant was hit by cruise missiles launched from the direction of the Black Sea.
The type of missile was probably Kh-55, the Army sources said, which is launched from strategic bombers. Similar missiles hit the Yavoriv military base in western Ukraine on Sunday. The Kh-55 is a Russian missile capable of carrying a 200-kiloton or conventional nuclear warhead to a target located at a distance of 3,000 km. It can also be launched from a submarine.
Residents of the city, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people from central and eastern Ukraine, claim that the airport was hit by a Russian missile.
BREAKING: Lviv airport has been hit by Russian missiles. I’m told it’s four missiles, but all unclear.
I can see smoke on the horizon from my apartment in the centre — airport is 6km from centre. Video not mine. pic.twitter.com/gZ5zNpDje5
— misha (@mishazelinsky) March 18, 2022
Several videos posted on social media show plumes of smoke billowing out near the International Airport. The airport is about six kilometers from the center of the city, one of the most monumental in the country.
At least three explosions were heard shortly after 6 am with anti-aircraft sirens blaring across the city and television station Ukraine 24 posted a short video on its Telegram channel in which a mushroom-shaped plume of smoke could be seen rising on the horizon.
