Seven dead in Lviv in fresh wave of strikes on Ukraine

Seven people, including three children, have been killed in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv during a new wave of Russian attacks, according to the city’s mayor.

The strike occurred as Ukraine was still grappling with the aftermath of a deadly attack on a military institute in the central city of Poltava, which claimed the lives of at least 50 people on Tuesday.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy reported that Russia launched drones and hypersonic missiles early on Wednesday. Among the victims were a baby, two girls aged nine and 14, and a woman who worked as a midwife in the city, according to officials.

Explosions were also heard in the capital, Kyiv, as air defenses engaged incoming Russian missiles.

In Kryvyy Rih, five people were injured when a hotel was hit, and nearby buildings were damaged. “Thank God everyone is alive now,” said Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul.

The Ukrainian military announced that the entire country was under an air alert.

In Lviv, dozens of people were injured, and Mayor Sadovy stated that more than 50 buildings in the city center were damaged, including homes, schools, and clinics.

Rescue workers are still searching through the rubble of the military institute in Poltava for survivors of Tuesday’s attack.

Mykyta Petrov, a 26-year-old cadet who had only recently started at the Poltava Military Communications Institute, recounted that two missiles struck shortly after 09:00 (06:00 GMT) on Tuesday, with the second missile detonating just three seconds after the first.

“I ran outside, there was smoke and dust everywhere…lots of people were outside having a cigarette, and many were killed.”

The cadet said there was “too much blood, too many dead bodies”, and what he had seen had affected him psychologically.

An air raid siren had gone off two minutes earlier, but had not given people enough time to reach bomb shelters

“You just imagine you’re on the sixth floor of some building and you need to run away downstairs. Is it realistic that you can do this in two minutes?” Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told the BBC.

President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that those responsible for the attack, whom he referred to as “Russian scum,” would be held accountable. He reiterated his call for increased air defenses to enable Ukraine to protect itself and carry out its own long-range missile strikes.

In a statement confirming the deaths of military personnel, Ukraine’s land forces announced that an investigation is underway to determine if sufficient measures were taken to protect those at the facility targeted by the missile.

Poltava regional governor Philip Pronin described the attack as a “cunning and cynical Russian strike” and later reported that 15 people were still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

The attack on Lviv in western Ukraine occurred as the entire country was under an air raid alert. Witnesses reported that the city was targeted around 05:40 (02:40 GMT), and the mayor later confirmed that Kinzhal missiles and drones were used in the strike.

Mayor Andriy Sadovy mentioned that some buildings near the railway station were hit, and Lviv regional administration head Maksym Kozytskyi added that residential buildings were also damaged.

Lviv, which has largely been spared from the worst of the fighting during the two and a half years of war, experienced Russian strikes last week that targeted its energy infrastructure, causing outages, according to officials.

President Zelensky is scheduled to meet with the Irish premier on Wednesday, as Ireland prepares to announce new funding to support Ukraine’s war effort.

The Taoiseach will unveil a €43 million (£36 million) aid package, which the Irish Government stated will provide essential humanitarian assistance, support rehabilitation and eventual reconstruction, and contribute to Ukraine’s long-term goals.