The attack on the western Ukrainian city comes a day after the deadliest Russian attack this year, which killed more than 50 people in Poltava.
At least seven people were killed and 35 injured in a Russian missile and drone strike on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early Wednesday morning, according to local authorities.
A child and a medical worker were among the dead, and others were in critical condition, while more than 50 houses, two medical institutions and two schools were damaged, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said in a video address.
An overnight strike also wounded five people in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, regional head Serhii Lysak said Wednesday morning.
Zelenskyy reacted to the attacks by urging Ukraine’s allies to give Kyiv “more range” to use Western weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.
Missile strikes were also reported in other cities across the country, including the capital, Kyiv, Sumy, Lutsk and Rivne.
Russia has launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine in the past 10 days, most recently in Poltava, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. This comes amid Ukraine’s recent incursion into Russia’s region of Kursk.
Poltava strike death toll surpasses 50
Wednesday’s attack came just a day after two Russian ballistic missiles hit a military academy and nearby hospital in Poltava, killing more than 50 people — the deadliest single attack this year.
The news of the strike was first shared by Zelenskyy on Tuesday, citing preliminary reports.
The missiles tore into the heart of the Poltava Military Institute of Communication’s main building, causing several stories to collapse. It didn’t take long for the smell of smoke and word of the deadly strike to spread through the central-eastern town.
“People found themselves under the rubble. Many were saved,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on his Telegram channel. He said he ordered an investigation into the strike and reiterated Kyiv’s demands for help from its allies.
Filip Pronin, governor of the eponymous region, announced on Telegram that 219 people were wounded. Another 20 people might still be buried under the rubble, he added.
Ten apartment buildings were damaged, and more than 150 people donated blood, according to Pronin.
