Russian missiles struck an area near the airport of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early on Friday, the mayor said, while Japan and Australia imposed new sanctions on Russian entities as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
Western sources and Ukrainian officials said Russia’s assault has faltered since its troops invaded on Feb. 24, further dashing its expectations of a swift victory and the removal of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government.
Russia has relied heavily on missiles and shelling to subdue Ukraine’s forces but has yet to secure any of its 10 largest cities.
At least three blasts were heard near Lviv’s airport on Friday morning, with videos on social media showing large explosions and plumes of smoke rising.
Lviv’s mayor, Andriy Sadovy, said several missiles had struck an aircraft maintenance facility, destroying buildings but causing no casualties.
The city has escaped significant fighting so far.
In the capital, Kyiv, one person was killed and four wounded when parts of a Russian missile fell on a residential building in the northern part of the city on Friday morning, emergency services officials said.
Despite battleground setbacks and punitive sanctions by the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little sign of relenting.
His government says it is counting on China to help Russia withstand blows to its economy.
The United States, which this week announced $800 million in new military aid to Kyiv, is concerned China is “considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
President Joe Biden, who described Putin as a “murderous dictator”, will make clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping in a call Friday that China “will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression”, Blinken told reporters. CONTINUE READING….
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