Smoke rises after an explosion in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on March 18, 2022. Russian forces on March 18 destroyed an aircraft repair plant in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv but no one was hurt, the mayor said. Yuriy Dyachyshyn, AFP
LVIV - Russian forces on Friday struck an area around Lviv's airport in western Ukraine, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, as grey smoke streamed across the sky and ambulances and police vehicles raced to the scene.
Writing on messaging app Telegram, Sadovyi said he could not give a precise address of the targeted area "but it's definitely not an airport."
A thick pall of grey smoke streamed across clear blue sky over Lviv's airport in western Ukraine at 7:30 a.m. Friday, an AFP reporter saw.
Armed checkpoints turned motorists back from roads leading to the airport, and a local told AFP he had heard a blast earlier Friday.
Lviv is the largest city in western Ukraine and a popular tourist destination known for its picturesque views.
Located 70 kilometers from the border with Poland, it has largely escaped military strikes from Russian forces in the past.
© Agence France-Presse
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