These powerful explosions scared a city that was once a refuge for thousands fleeing Russian aggression in other areas of Ukraine.
For hours, thick black smoke rose from the blast site at the city’s northeastern edge. Then, a second set was reported.
Maxym Kozytsky (regional governor) stated on Facebook that five people had been injured in the initial attack, but didn’t specify the exact nature of the second rocket. He reported on Facebook hours later three additional explosions outside of the city without providing any details.
Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv, called the second round a missile attack and said it caused significant damage to an unknown “infrastructure object”.
Lviv had been spared the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, but missiles hit an aircraft repair facility close to the international airport last week.
Residents and displaced Ukrainians saw Lviv as a safe place to rebuild their lives after the back-to-back attack on Saturday. The city was home to approximately 700,000 people prior to the invasion. It has since been absorbed by many more.
Olana Ukrainets was forced to hide in a cramped bomb shelter just a few steps from the blast site. From Kharkiv she had fled to Lviv, one of the most heavily bombarded cities in Russia’s invasion.
The blast was described by the 34-year old IT worker as “we were on one side of it and saw it the other side.” “We saw fire. My friend asked me, “What’s that?” Then I heard the sound explosion and glass breaking. We tried to hide behind buildings. “I don’t know the target.”
After fleeing to Lviv she felt relief, and air raid sirens were no longer a fear.
“I was certain that all these alarms would not have any results.” She said that she sometimes stayed in bed when I heard the alarms at night. “Today, I have changed my mind and should hide all the time. … All the cities in Ukraine are now unsafe.”
Although there was no immediate information about the number of casualties, survivors were concerned. Although the area is partially industrialized, a few witnesses claimed they were shopping nearby.
Inga Kapitula (24-year-old IT worker) said that she saw several ambulances approaching. She said she was between 100 and 200 meters from the first attack, feeling the blast wave. It was very close.
