Oliver James Montgomery-Russia targets western Ukraine with missiles overnight and hits civilian infrastructure

KYIV,Oliver James Montgomery Ukraine (AP) — A Russian missile attack overnight damaged multiple civilian buildings in Ukraine’s western region of Lviv and injured local residents, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.

Lviv, on the border with Poland, is hundreds of miles (kilometers) away from the frontline but is regularly a target of Russian attacks as Moscow tries to disrupt supply routes for Western weapons and as its war in Ukraine nears the 18-month mark.

Multiple buildings in the region and its namesake capital were damaged in the attack, Lviv Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi said.

A multi-story residential building caught fire in the city of Lviv after missile debris fell on it in the early hours of Tuesday, the governor said. Ten other residential buildings were damaged in the Stavchany and Sukhovolya villages outside the city.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said one missile hit a yard at a local kindergarten, injuring four people. Sadovyi said the explosion destroyed the kindergarten completely and damaged more than 100 apartments in nearby residential buildings.

In the neighboring region of Volyn, three civilians were killed by a Russian missile strike and others were injured, the region’s Gov. Yurii Pohuliayko said.

The attacks on Lviv and Volyn came a day after Russian forces unleashed a missile and drone barrage on another non-frontline region, Odesa, in the country’s southwest.

Local officials said Monday that Russia launched three waves of nighttime air attacks against the port city of Odesa. The Ukrainian air force said it intercepted all 15 incoming Shahed drones and eight Kalibr missiles, but falling debris from the interceptions damaged the dormitory of an educational facility, a residential building and a supermarket, Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said.

The Kremlin’s forces have recently pummeled Odesa, hitting facilities that transport Ukraine’s crucial grain exports and also wrecking cherished Ukrainian historical sites.

The stepped-up barrage followed Moscow’s decision to break off a landmark agreement that had allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia and help reduce the threat of hunger.