March 27 (UPI) — Russia on Sunday claimed responsibility for the destruction of a fuel base near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where refugees have fled since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The fuel base was destroyed with “long-range precision weapons” in Saturday’s assault, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters at a Kremlin briefing.
The Russian official said the base provided Ukrainian troops with fuel in the western regions of the country, as well as near Kyiv.
Five people were wounded in an initial attack on the base, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said in statements made to Twitter.
A second round of missile strikes later hit Lviv causing “significant damage” to infrastructure facilities, Kozytsky said. The attack did not damage any residential buildings.
The fuel depot was “completely destroyed,” Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyy said on Telegram.
At least six explosions were heard in Lviv in total Saturday as air raid sirens warned Ukrainians of possible further attacks.
Konashenkov said Russian forces also used “high-precision cruise missiles” to strike a radio repair plant in Lviv, where Moscow claimed S-125 and Tor anti-aircraft missile systems were undergoing major repairs and modernization.
Ukrainian officials said fires at the depot had been extinguished by early Sunday morning.
Lviv police, meanwhile, have arrested two men on espionage charges in connection with the fuel depot bombing.
The attacks came just hours before U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Warsaw, located only 250 miles west of Lviv, to deliver a blistering attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
