Seven dead in Lviv in fresh wave of strikes on Ukraine

Seven people, three of them children, have been killed in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, according to the mayor, during a fresh wave of Russian attacks.

The strike came as Ukraine was still reeling from the deaths of at least 50 people at a military institute in the central city of Poltava on Tuesday.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy said Russia had attacked with drones and hypersonic missiles early on Wednesday. Among those killed were a baby, a 14-year-old girl and a woman working as a midwife in the city, officials said.

Explosions were also heard over the capital Kyiv as air defences targeted Russian missiles. Meanwhile, five people were reportedly injured after flats were hit in the city of Kryvyy Rih.

The Ukrainian military said the whole country has been placed under an air alert.

Mr Sadovy said a number of residential buildings were on fire, with two schools to remain shut on Wednesday as a result of the attacks.

Rescue workers are continuing to search through the rubble of a military institute in Poltava for survivors of Tuesday’s attack.

People did not have enough time to get to bomb shelters after the air raid alarm sounded, Ukraine’s ministry of defence said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky promised that what he called “Russian scum” would pay for the attack, and repeated calls for more air defences so that Ukraine could protect itself by carrying out its own long-range missile attacks.

Western Lviv has largely been spared the worst of the fighting over the two and a half years of war, but last week, Russian strikes targeted its energy infrastructure causing outages, according to officials.

Moscow has not commented on the latest attack.

Mr Zelensky is due to meet the Irish premier on Wednesday as Ireland prepares to announce new funding for Ukraine’s war effort.

The Taoiseach will also announce €43m (£36 million) in aid to Ukraine, comprising a new allocation of €3m (£30 million) to partner organisations through its development body Irish Aid.

The Irish Government said the package will provide essential humanitarian assistance, support rehabilitation and eventual reconstruction, and contribute to Ukraine’s longer-term goals.