A Russian missile struck an apartment building in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring nine others.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the missile also damaged around 60 apartments and 50 cars. Sadovyi described the attack as the largest against the city’s civilian infrastructure since Russia’s invasion began last year.
“There will definitely be a response to the enemy. A tangible one,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Lviv is located near Ukraine’s border with Poland, far from the frontline areas in eastern and southern Ukraine that have been the focus of much of the recent fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
Ukraine counteroffensive
In an interview with CNN broadcast on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he wanted to launch a counteroffensive earlier, but that the timing was dependent on getting military aid from Ukraine’s U.S. and European partners.
Ukraine began the counteroffensive last month, aiming to reclaim territory occupied by Russia since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian officials have sought ammunition and more advanced weapons, including air defence systems and fighter jets, in order to match up with Russia’s military capabilities.
“I wanted our counteroffensive to happen much earlier because everyone understood that if the counteroffensive unfolds later, then a bigger part of our territory will be mined,” Zelenskyy told CNN. “We give our enemy the time and possibility to place more mines and prepare their defensive lines.”
He reiterated his case for Ukraine to receive F-16 fighter jets, saying having the planes is not about gaining an aerial advantage, but rather “being equal” to Russia’s forces.
Denmark said last week that training for Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s had begun.
