Locals were urged to stay indoors as dense smoke rose over the city of 700,000, sometimes called the western capital of Ukraine. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said five people were injured in two rocket-propelled grenades that set fire to an industrial fuel storage facility. Residential areas were not hit, he said. Governor Maksym Kozytsky reported “three more powerful explosions” about an hour later. Mr Sadovyi said the subsequent strikes had caused “significant damage” to infrastructure. He told residents to stay indoors as an air raid sounded. Witnesses told Reuters they saw smoke over the northeastern side of Lviv. Dense smoke rises over Lviv after an air raid (Reuters) Western Ukraine was for the most part quieter than elsewhere in the country during the war, with Russian forces concentrated in the north, east and south. Several Russian attacks have hit sites in the Lviv region, according to Ukrainian officials. An aircraft repair plant was hit last Friday, Lviv Mayor Andriy Santovi said. Two weeks ago, Russian forces fired rockets at a military training center near Lviv – their westernmost target at the time – and killed 35 people. Dark smoke and flames emerge from a fire after an air raid on Lviv on Saturday (AFP / Getty) Since the beginning of the invasion, Lviv has become a safe haven for some 200,000 displaced Ukrainians. Many have taken refuge in the city on their way to seek refuge in western countries. Elsewhere in Ukraine on Saturday, Russian forces reportedly entered the northern city of Slavutych and occupied a hospital there. A rocket flies over Lviv on Saturday (EPA) Slavutych is located east of Chernihiv, a besieged city that Ukrainian authorities say had been cut off from electricity, heating and water. The residents said that the food was running out and they were afraid “of becoming the next Mariupol”. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had “blocked” Ukrainian cities, including Chernihiv, to seize the Ukrainian army, while Russia focused on controlling Donbas. The extent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (PA) Moscow said on Friday that the first phase of its military operation in Ukraine was “generally” complete and that it would focus on “liberating” the eastern part, parts of which are being held by Moscow-backed forces. A senior US official has said that attempts to occupy the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, have stopped and that Russian troops appear to be defending the city. He said airstrikes in the capital were continuing.
