*More than 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers lost in Mariupol – Russia, Kyiv says not more than 3,000
Witnesses say multiple explosions believed to be caused by missiles struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early Monday.
Lviv and the rest of western Ukraine have been less affected by the fighting than other parts of the country, and the city was considered to be a relatively safe haven.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Facebook that five missiles struck the city and that emergency services were responding to the blasts. He said more details would follow, A News reported.
According to Hindustan Times, more reports of Russian strikes around major population centres surfaced on Sunday as the Ukraine war enters Day 54.
Ukrainian soldiers resisted a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverised port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces had almost completely seized in what would be its biggest prize of the nearly two-month war. Russia said on Saturday it had control of urban areas, with some Ukrainian fighters remaining in the Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov.
Meanwhile, an explosion in Kyiv was also reported by local media, though deputy mayor Mykola Povoroznyk said air defence systems had thwarted Russian attacks. Russia said it had destroyed an ammunition factory near the capital.
Shelling in Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv, killed five people and injured 13, Ukrainian media reported. On Sunday, police in the Donetsk region said that over the past 24 hours Russian forces opened fire on 13 settlements under Ukrainian control, killing two civilians.
About four million Ukrainians have fled the country, cities have been shattered and thousands have died since the start of the invasion on Feb 24.
Russia said Ukraine had lost more than 4,000 soldiers in Mariupol as of Saturday. Kyiv says its total troop losses nationwide so far in the war are less than that, between 2,500 and 3,000.
Russia calls its action a special military operation to demilitarise Ukraine and eradicate what it calls dangerous nationalists. The West and Kyiv accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of unprovoked aggression.
