Russian missiles hit plane repair plant near Lviv airport; no casualties reported

LVIV, Ukraine — A number of Russian missiles hit an aircraft repair facility near Lviv’s airport early on Friday morning, the closest volley on the western Ukrainian city since Russia first invaded three weeks ago.

Ukraine’s air force, referring to the strike and citing preliminary information, said that six “cruise missiles had been launched, probably Kh-555, from the Black Sea.”

Two missiles had been destroyed, the statement added.

Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv, Ukraine, confirmed that Russian missiles hit buildings near the airfield, around five kilometers (3 miles) from the city, itself a hub for internally displaced persons.

“[Russian] rockets hit the buildings of the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant,” Sadovyi said on his personal Telegram account.

“The buildings are destroyed. The factory had previously stopped active operations, so as of now there are no human casualties. First responders and rescuers are already on the scene,” Sadovyi said.

The destroyed facility is close to Lviv’s airport, which was apparently not damaged in the attack.

Earlier, Sadovyi said the strike was “definitely not” on the airport itself.

Ukrainian authorities have asked locals to refrain from publicly sharing images of blast sites so as to not aid Russian targeting.

Vitaliy, a Lviv resident who lives close to the airport, but asked that his last name not be published, said he “woke up from the sound of the explosion and the vibrations in my house.”

“I heard three bombs [sic] and saw the smoke from my window,” he said.

Ukraine’s air alert system is notoriously imprecise, and while air raid sirens have sounded across the city since the start of the Russian invasion, Friday’s attack was the closest impact to date on the city of 720,000 official residents, a number estimated to have swelled by 200,000 as the city has become a haven for internally displaced Ukrainians, who until this morning, considered the city to be relatively safe from assault.

Many residents across the city, accustomed to sirens which until now were false alarms, seemed barely phased or resigned to the strike, even as a second round of sirens sounded just before 7 a.m.

Lviv is the largest city in western Ukraine, and was, until recently, a popular tourist destination known for its picturesque views.

Last weekend Russian cruise missiles devastated a military base west of Lviv, killing 35 people and wounding more than 130.

Located 70 kilometers (45 miles) from the border with EU member Poland, the city had largely been spared since Russian forces invaded on February 24.