Air raid sirens sounded Saturday afternoon in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, and governor of the region Maxym Kozytsky reported “three powerful explosions near” the city without giving details of what was hit.
Footage shot by The Associated Press showed thick plumes of smoke rising above the city, which has largely been spared from major Russian attacks in recent weeks. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Lviv has become a safe harbor for some 200,000 displaced Ukrainians.
The city of over 700,000 is roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Ukraine’s border with Poland, which President Joe Biden was visiting Saturday. He told Poland’s president that “your freedom is ours.”
Mr. Biden was also scheduled to give a “major” speech about Ukraine that “will speak to the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world, and why it is so important that the free world sustain unity and resolve in the face of Russian aggression,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday.
Mr. Biden’s aides say he wants to not only show support for Poland and Ukraine, but also cast the conflict as a broader battle between democracy and autocracy.
Two weeks ago, Russian forces fired missiles on a military training center near Lviv, which at the time was the most westward target, and killed 35 people.
