🔗 Share this article Moscow's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Rockets Bombard Western Ukrainian City of Lviv in Sustained Assault Early on Sunday, the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, usually regarded as one of the safest locations in the country, experienced one of its most sustained strikes since the beginning of Vladimir Putin's full-scale military campaign. Over a five-hour period, Moscow's Iranian-designed drones and missiles targeted the city, situated about 70 kilometers from the Polish border. Significant blasts could be heard from the city center, a designated UNESCO heritage location. Casualties and Destruction Throughout Ukraine Across the country, no fewer than five individuals lost their lives – four in the region of Lviv and another in the Zaporizhzhia city. Additionally, 14 people sustained injuries. Among the casualties was a 15-year-old girl, who perished along with three relatives when their residence was struck. Sections of Lviv was experienced power outages, according to the mayor. Large blazes erupted in various locations, such as a civilian industrial park in the south of the urban center. As the pungent odor of burning and fumes permeated the area, the local administration head encouraged residents to close their windows and refrain from going outside or to utilize gas masks or respirators. International Reactions and Defense Measures Polish military aviation reported it deployed fighter aircraft and implemented defensive measures to secure its territorial skies following a recent incursion by Russian decoy drones. There were also multiple drone sightings in recent days in EU countries including Denmark and Germany. More than 50 missiles and about five hundred unmanned assault vehicles were utilized in the attack. Armaments included long-range guided missiles, Shahed-type drones and Kinzhal ballistic missiles. Several areas were affected, among them Ivano-Frankivsk region, Zaporizhzhia oblast, Odesa, Kherson area, Sumy region, Kharkiv and Chernihiv territory. Call for Global Support Ukrainian leadership called on international partners to help boost air defences and to impose a restricted airspace – a step that to date been met with reluctance. "An independent cessation of hostilities in the skies is attainable – and it is exactly this which could pave the path to genuine negotiations. The United States and European nations must act to compel Russian leadership cease," the statement emphasized. Over the past few days, Russian forces has targeted the nation's power facilities, leading to electricity outages in multiple regions, a tactic repeated in the lead-up to colder months for the past three years. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces has been strike fuel infrastructure within Russian territory with its domestically developed extended-range unmanned aircraft. Community Consequences Lviv was in the midst of the annual Lviv BookForum, with authors and audiences gathered in the urban center for one of the largest literary events in eastern Europe. In addition to Ukrainian writers, such as literary figures Artur Dron and Julia Musakovska, there were global participants including UK-based Forward prizewinning author Fiona Benson, and, participating by remote connection, the Booker prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo, and the Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk. By Sunday morning, debris was still falling on the roads of Lviv, as fatigued locals ventured out and attended church services. The damaged wreckage of a unmanned aircraft lay on a sidewalk outside a block of flats, cordoned off with red tape.