Russian airstrike hits base in western Ukraine, kills 35

Local officials in western Ukraine say a Russian airstrike on a military training base that has hosted NATO drills killed at least 35 people and wounded 134

Waves of Russian missiles pounded a military training base close to Ukraine’s western border with NATO member Poland, killing at least 35 people. The strike followed Russian threats to target foreign weapon shipments that are helping Ukrainian fighters defend their country against Russia's grinding invasion.

More than 30 Russian cruise missiles targeted the sprawling training facility that is less than 25 kilometers from the closest border point with Poland, according to the Governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region. Poland is a key location for routing Western military aid to Ukraine.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Lviv had largely been spared the scale of destruction unfolding further east and become a destination for residents escaping bombarded cities and for many of the nearly 2.6 million refugees who have fled the country.

The training centre in Yavoriv appears to be the most westward target struck so far in the 18-day invasion. The facility, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre, has long been used to train Ukrainian military personnel, often with instructors from the United States and other NATO countries.

It has also hosted international NATO drills. As such, the site symbolises what has long been a Russian complaint: That the NATO alliance of 30 member countries is moving ever closer to Russia’s borders. Russia has demanded that Ukraine drop its ambitions to join NATO.

Lviv Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said most of the missiles fired on Sunday “were shot down because the air defence system worked.” The ones that got through through killed at least 35 people and wounded 134, he said.

Russian fighters also fired at the airport in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, which is less than 150 kilometers north of Romania and 250 kilometers from Hungary, countries that also are NATO allies. The airport, which includes a military airfield as well as a runway for civilian flights, also was targeted Friday.