A Russian drone and missile assault on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv claimed the lives of seven people, including four members of the Bazylevych family. Lviv, a city close to the Polish border and a NATO member nation, has not been spared from the war’s violence, despite its distance from the frontline. This attack has underscored the ongoing civilian toll of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began more than 30 months ago.
Yaroslav Bazylevych lost his wife and three young daughters, aged seven, 18, and 21, when their home was struck by Russian missiles. The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, expressed his grief and outrage on social media, highlighting the horrific loss of life and calling attention to Russia’s continued attacks on civilians. “In the centre of Europe, Russia is eliminating Ukrainians by (killing off) entire families. The Russians are killing our children, our future,” Sadovyi stated. Videos from the scene depicted emergency service workers carrying bodies from a severely damaged residential building, as distraught relatives searched for their loved ones.
The Ukrainian State Emergency Service released footage showing rescuers pulling what appeared to be the body of a young girl from beneath the rubble. In total, 53 people, including seven children, were reported injured in the Lviv attack. This assault is part of a broader pattern of Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, with thousands of civilians killed since the onset of the war.
Despite Russia’s claims that it does not target civilians, the evidence from these strikes suggests otherwise. Russia argues that Ukrainian military, energy, and transport infrastructures are legitimate targets. The recent attacks on Lviv, however, have damaged historic buildings in the city’s UNESCO-protected historic area, including seven local architectural monuments, schools, homes, and clinics, according to regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi.
The Lviv attack followed one of the war’s deadliest days this year, with Russia’s strike on a military institute in Poltava killing 50 people and injuring hundreds. Russia’s Defence Ministry described the Poltava strike as a “precision strike” on a Ukrainian Armed Forces centre where foreign instructors were training personnel in communications, electronic warfare, and drone operations. In Lviv, Russia claimed that hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and drones were used to hit defence enterprises involved in the production and repair of electronic components for aircraft and missile systems used by the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine’s air force reported that during the overnight attack, Russia launched a total of 13 missiles, including two Kh-47 M2 Kinzhal missiles. Ukrainian air defences managed to intercept seven of these missiles, as well as 22 out of 29 drones launched across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on allies to provide more air defences and to allow the use of long-range Western weapons to counter the continued Russian aggression, describing it as “terror.”
In response, Moscow warned of delivering an “extremely painful” retaliation if Ukraine were to strike deeper into Russian territory using long-range weapons provided by Western allies. Russia’s recent intensified missile and drone attacks, which have hit multiple Ukrainian regions over the past ten days, have been described by some Russian military bloggers as Moscow’s response to Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory.
The broader implications of the conflict extend beyond Ukraine’s borders, with Poland scrambling its aircraft on Wednesday for the third time in just over a week to secure its airspace amid the escalating conflict. The proximity of Lviv to Poland, only about 70 kilometres away, underscores the ongoing threat to NATO’s borders and the growing urgency for robust defensive measures to protect European security.
As the war continues to take a severe toll on Ukrainian civilians, the international community’s response remains critical in determining the course of this devastating conflict.
