Russia strikes Ukraine army base near Poland as it widens attacks

DOHA. — Russian troops launched multiple air strikes at the training ground near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, local officials said.
The Russian troops have launched multiple air raids on a large Ukrainian military facility outside the western city of Lviv near the Polish border, Ukrainian officials said, in what appeared to be the westernmost attack since Moscow launched the special military operation on February 24.
The governor of Lviv region, said at least nine people were killed and 57 others wounded in the air strike on the facility.
Russia “launched an air strike on the International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security”, the head of the Lviv regional administration, Maxim Kozitsky, said on Sunday on his verified Facebook page, adding that eight missiles were fired.
Initial reports indicated “there are no dead, but information about the injured and wounded is being clarified”, said Anton Mironovich, spokesman for the Academy of Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The governor of Lviv, however, said at least nine people were killed and 57 others wounded in the air raid on the facility.
Al Jazeera was unable to verify the reports regarding the attack and casualties.
Russia offered no immediate comment.
The 360-square-km – Yavoriv military facility less than 25km from the Polish border, is one of Ukraine’s biggest and the largest in the western part of the country.
Ukraine holds most of its drills with NATO countries there.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said foreign military instructors worked at the facility.
“Foreign instructors work here. Information about the victims is being clarified,” he said in an online post.
A short drive from European Union member Poland, the city is also a transit hub for those leaving Ukraine.
Separately, the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine said the city’s airport was targeted in an attack.
“According to preliminary information, this morning’s explosions were from an attack on the airport,” Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv said on Facebook. — Al Jazeera.
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