A military base near the Polish border in western Ukraine was targeted in a Russian missile attack Tuesday morning that may be the heaviest strike in western Ukraine since the start of the war, according to Ukrainian officials.
Explosions rocked the city of Lviv shortly after midnight local time, as air raid sirens sent residents scrambling for shelter. The incoming missiles were bound for a military base in the Yavoriv district, about 25 miles from the city center, according to the head of Lviv regional military administration. The official added that air defense systems “worked,” according to preliminary information. The base is located about 9 miles from the border with Poland.
“Lviv is under heavy attack right now. Friends say it has never been this loud. This is WEST Ukraine. Very close to Poland,” Ukrainian Member of Parliament Lesia Vasylenko reported on Twitter shortly after the attack.
Lviv is under heavy attack right now. Friends say it has never been this loud. This is WEST #Ukraine. Very close to Poland 🇵🇱
— Lesia Vasylenko (@lesiavasylenko) May 16, 2022
The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, asked residents to stay in bomb shelters during the attack and confirmed the sound of explosions in the city. He later clarified that “missiles hitting the city are not confirmed.”
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“The object of military infrastructure in the territory of Yavoriv district, almost on the border with Poland, was fired upon again,” Lviv regional military administration chief Maksym Kozytsky said on Telegram.
“According to preliminary information, our air defense system has worked. Data are being updated,” he said, asking residents not to ignore air raid sirens.
A member of CNN’s team in Lviv said that air defenses were “lighting up” northwest of the city — in the direction of the Yavoriv base.
Video shared on social media reportedly from the Lviv area showed what appeared to be a missile streaking across the night sky, followed by an explosion.
Another Ukrainian Member of Parliament Inna Sovsun said on Twitter that she has heard reports of several “huge” explosions in the city in the middle of the night and said Tuesday’s attack was “the biggest missile strike in Lviv” since the start of the war.
My assistant, who lives in Lviv texted to team’s chat in the middle of the night: “Gosh! I just heard a huge explosion!” Then in a minutes he texted about another explosion. And then a couple more.
This was the biggest missile strike in Lviv… Nowhere is safe in #Ukraine now!— Inna Sovsun (@InnaSovsun) May 17, 2022
The Yavoriv base was the site of a deadly Russian missile attack in March that killed more than 30 people.
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Several sites closer to the Lviv city center have also been hit by Russian missiles since the Feb. 24 invasion, including a railway station and an aircraft parts facility.
Ukrainian officials have not yet reported any casualties suffered in Tuesday’s attack.
