The overnight attack destroyed the roof and the top two floors of a residential building, injuring 36. Emergency teams, aided by sniffer dogs, searched through the rubble.
The youngest victim was 21 and the oldest 95, said Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the region’s military administration.
“This woman survived World War II, but unfortunately, she has not survived” the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kozytskyi said.
The street in front of the building, which leads to a small park with swings and climbing frames among the trees, was littered with rubble and wrecked parked cars.
Some 60 apartments and 50 vehicles were damaged in the attack, said the city’s mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, announcing two days of official mourning.
US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink described the attack as “ruthless.”
“Russia’s repeated attacks on civilians are absolutely horrifying,” he tweeted.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted seven of the 10 Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Moscow troops from the Black Sea toward the Lviv region and the city of the same name — more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away — around at 1 a.m. on Thursday.
Kremlin forces have repeatedly attacked civilian areas since the start of the war, although Russian authorities have indicated that they choose their targets solely for their military prowess.
Lviv is close to the western border with Poland and more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine, where Kiev’s counteroffensive to drive out Russian forces is in its early stages.
In a video message to residents, the mayor, Sadovyi, said the attack was the largest targeting civilian infrastructure in the city since the start of the invasion.
“The Russians are attacking us. This is how they love us. I am very sorry for the deceased. They were young,” said resident Ganna Fedorenko, her hands folded across her chest. She had injuries to her face and a blood-smeared tape on her right cheek. “This is terrible. Civilians have been attacked.”
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said 64 people had to leave their homes.
The country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, promised “a response to the enemy. A tangible one.”
Later, the president visited Bulgaria, invited by the new pro-Western government, where they discussed military aid and support for Ukraine’s NATO membership.
Updates from the Ukrainian air force on the course of the missiles overnight showed that they first flew towards the kyiv region, before turning west towards Lviv. Russia often redirects its missiles and drones to find weak spots in Ukrainian air defenses.
In the early days of the war, Lviv served as the main transit point for the millions of refugees from across the country who crossed the border into Europe. Hundreds of thousands of eastern and southern Ukrainians stayed in the city, which is calmer and safer than their regions.
Like the rest of the country, Lviv suffered power outages during the winter after Russia launched hundreds of missiles aimed at destroying Ukraine’s energy system. But attacks there were less frequent than in the capital, kyiv, and Thursday’s came as a shock to many in the city.
The Ukrainians filled the social networks with messages of support for the residents of Lviv.
FUENTE: Associated Press
