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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
At least seven civilians were killed and 64 wounded in Lviv in the early hours of Sept. 4 amid Russia's attack against Ukraine, regional authorities reported. Children were among the casualties.
Several explosions were heard in the city amid a nationwide air raid alert as Russia launched drones and missiles against the country. Multiple casualties were reported also in Kryvyi Rih.
Explosions were heard in other cities overnight, including Kyiv, Sumy, Lutsk, and Rivne.
Initial reports said that three children were among the killed, but the latest updates confirmed a single 7-year-old girl among the fatalities. The girl, Emilia Bazylevych, was killed in her home along with her 43-year-old mother, Yevhenia, and two sisters, 21-year-old Yaryna and 18-year-old Daryna.
Only their father, Yaroslav, survived the attack, according to Mayor Andrii Sadovyi.
"I don’t know what words to use to support the father of the family, Yaroslav. We are all with you today. Sincere condolences," Sadovyi said on Telegram.
The other killed victims included a 52-year-old woman and two men aged 54 and 55.
There are eight children among the wounded, including a 10-year-old boy. Some 47 people have been hospitalized as a result of the attack, of whom seven are in critical condition, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported earlier during the day.
The State Emergency Service reported at around 12:50 p.m. that the search and rescue operations had concluded.
Several buildings near the central railway station caught fire following the strike. Some 50 buildings were damaged overall by the attack. This included three schools and an arts center, which were hit only a few days after the new school year began in Ukraine.
The attack damaged buildings in the historical center in an area recognized as a UNESCO buffer zone. At least seven architectural sites of local importance were damaged, according to Governor Kozytskyi.
Lviv, located approximately 540 kilometers (about 335 miles) west of Kyiv with a population of over 700,000, has been targeted several times by Russian drones and missiles during the war. The city is about 70 kilometers (approximately 43 miles) east of the Polish border.
Polish and NATO aircraft have been scrambled in Poland's airspace as a result of a Russian attack, a common response during strikes in western Ukraine.
Russian drones and missiles have previously entered Poland's airspace during attacks on Ukraine. However, Poland's allies advised the government to exercise restraint when dealing with unidentified airspace violations, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Poland and neighboring countries are "responsible for protecting their own airspace," despite NATO's opposition, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sept. 2.
The deadliest attack against Lviv so far took place in July 2023, when a Russian missile strike killed 10 people and injured 40.
"Everyone who convinces our partners to give Ukraine greater range to respond to this terror is helping to prevent Russian terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to Western partners to permit strikes deep inside Russia with Western-supplied arms, arguing it will help destroy Russian bombers before they can target Ukrainian cities.
Russia also launched a missile attack against the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast the same morning, injuring at least five civilians, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. The victims include women aged 62, 83, and 84, a 70-year-old man, and a 10-year-old girl.
Later during the day, city administration head Oleksandr Vilkul reported on a sixth victim – a 58-year-old woman who was hospitalized with a fracture.
A hotel, 57 apartment buildings, four educational institutions, and four cars were damaged in the attack, according to local authorities.
Kryvyi Rih, with a population of around 660,000, is the second most populous city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, lying over 60 kilometers (under 40 miles) north of Russian-occupied territories in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zelensky's hometown has suffered multiple deadly attacks by Russian forces since the outbreak of the full-scale war.
A hotel in Kryvyi Rih was struck by a Russian missile on Aug. 26, leaving at least four people dead and five injured.
Overnight on Sept. 4, Russia reportedly fired 42 drones and missiles against Ukraine, including two Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles launched from MiG-31K aircraft, two Kh-22 cruise missiles launched from Tu-22M3 bomber planes, six Kh-101 cruise missiles fired from Tu-95MS bomber planes, three Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 29 Shahed-type "kamikaze" drones.
Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 22 drones, four Kh-101 missiles, and three Iskander-K missiles, the Air Force said. Six drones were lost, likely as a result of electronic warfare means, and one flew to Belarus, according to the statement.
Air defense was active in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Volyn, Ternopil, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Poltava, and Sumy oblasts.
Elsa Court
