Russian strikes hit outskirts of Ukrainian capital and Lviv

Russian forces pressed their assault on Ukrainian cities Friday, with new missile strikes and shelling on the edges of the capital Kyiv and the western city of Lviv, as world leaders pushed for an investigation of the Kremlin’s repeated attacks on civilian targets, including schools, hospitals and residential areas.

Outside Lviv, black smoke billowed for hours after the early morning strike by several missiles, which the mayor said hit a facility for repairing military aircraft near the city’s international airport, also damaging a bus repair facility. No casualties were immediately reported. The facility had suspended work ahead of the attack, said the mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, on the Telegram messaging app.

A soldier standing guard near the site said he heard three blasts in quick succession around 6 a.m. A nearby resident described his building vibrating from the explosions and people panicking.

The missiles that hit Lviv were launched from the Black Sea, but two of the six that were launched were shot down, Ukrainian air force’s western command said on Facebook.

Not far from the Polish border and well behind the front lines, Lviv and the surrounding area have not been spared Russia’s attacks. In the worst, nearly three dozen people were killed last weekend in a strike on a training facility near the city. Meanwhile, Lviv’s population has swelled by some 200,000 as people from elsewhere in Ukraine have sought shelter there.

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