Ukraine, March 27:
A safe haven providing passage for people seeking to enter or leave Ukraine, the city of Lviv was jolted out of its lull on Saturday afternoon as at least five Russian missiles struck just east of the city, leaving five people wounded.
The first of the blasts hit around 4.45 pm, minutes after a public opera performance on in front of the Lviv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and featuring a singer from Kharkiv – the city that has been at the receiving end of Russian invasion – was cut short by air sirens.
The reaction was leisurely, with the city mostly untouched by the violence now treating these sirens as false alarms. But then came the blast. Even as some people moved to the shelters, others rallied around, with shouts of “Glory Ukraine”.
At the Ukraine Media Centre, set up in the top two floors of a three-storey bar by the government, the excitement Saturday was all about the lifting of an alcohol ban, in place in Lviv since the start of the war. The muffled bangs in quick succession in the evening caused a surprise. The severity of the attack only struck when a dark plume of smoke rose over buildings to the east, and continued to hang there for hours, visible from all around the city.
There was speculation regarding whether a telecommunication tower or an oil depot had been hit, both located just 2 km from the bar.
With more missile strikes later in the evening, Lviv’s mayor Andriy Sadovyi tweeted: “We are waiting for information from the Military Administration. Please do not share photos / videos. Stay in the shelters.”
Head of Lviv region’s military administration Maksym Kozytsky confirmed the missile attacks. On his official Telegram channel, he posted: “Information that there was an impact on a residential building or other infrastructure facilities has not been confirmed. According to preliminary data, five people were injured.” He also said that the threat of a missile strike was still on, asking people to stay indoors or in shelters.
There was no word about the kind of missiles used or the actual targets.
