Governor Maksym Kozytsky said two rockets hit a fuel depot in the eastern suburbs of the city on Saturday afternoon, injuring five people and two rockets later hitting a military factory. He added that he had visited the site of the first attacks and that the situation was “under control”, but called on residents to seek refuge. Journalists in the city reported seeing thick black clouds of smoke after the raids. Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said the attacks caused “significant damage” to infrastructure facilities, including the explosion of windows at a local school. But “residential buildings were not damaged,” he wrote on Twitter, without giving details of the location. Αποτέλεσμα As a result of the new bombings in Lviv, significant damage was done to infrastructure facilities. Residential buildings were not damaged. The fires continue to be extinguished. Appropriate services work on site. – Andrew Sadovy (@AndriySadovyi) March 26, 2022 The mayor said the attacks were “greetings” from the “Russian attacker” to US President Joe Biden, who was visiting the Polish capital, Warsaw, to reassure Ukraine of Washington’s full support. There has been no immediate comment on the attacks in Lviv by Russian authorities, who have described the invasion as a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine. Lviv, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Polish border, had so far escaped the bombing and fighting that destroyed some Ukrainian cities closer to Russia. The city had a population of about 717,000 before the war, but has become a haven for thousands of families fleeing the worst fighting in eastern, southern and central Ukraine and a transit hub for people fleeing the country. Despite more than four weeks of conflict, Russia has so far failed to occupy any major Ukrainian cities. The conflict has killed thousands of people, sent nearly 3.8 million abroad and displaced more than half of Ukraine’s children from their homes, according to the United Nations. Moscow signaled on Friday that it was limiting its military ambitions to focus on Russian-backed separatist territories in the east before hitting the outskirts of Lviv. Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak’s chief of staff said the attacks showed that Russia wanted to intimidate Ukraine and the foreign diplomats who moved their embassies to Lviv for perceived relative security compared to the capital, Kyiv. “Ukraine must not be intimidated by such crimes by the Russians, and I want to say to my Western partners once again – shut up, show strength,” he told the Telegram. This referred to the repeated request of Ukraine for a no-fly zone, which NATO has ruled out due to fears that it could lead to direct clashes with Russian forces and escalation throughout Europe. In Warsaw, Biden blamed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for the war in Ukraine, calling him a “butcher.” “We have to have clear eyes. “This battle will not be won in days or months,” he said after meeting with Ukrainian refugees. “We have to strengthen ourselves for a long fight ahead of us.” He also held his first face-to-face meeting with top Ukrainian officials since the start of the war. The meeting, held in Warsaw, was Biden’s last stop on a trip to Europe to highlight his opposition to the Russian invasion, his solidarity with Ukraine and his determination to work closely with Western allies to address of the crisis. Following the meetings, the United States, which has committed billions in aid, announced an additional $ 100 million in on-site equipment and civilian security assistance to Ukraine’s border guards and police.
