Russian missile attack on Lviv destroyed a residential area

The Russian invading army launched a missile attack on Lviv, in western Ukraine, 1,200 km from the front line on the night of 6 July. Russian Kalibr missiles hit a residential area in Lviv in the middle of the night.

Updated on July 7, at 10am.

Russian missile attack killed at least 10 people in Lviv

The Russian terrorist attack killed 10 people and injured 42, Lviv authorities said.

The missile strike destroyed an apartment building, damaged 30 nearby residential buildings, a school, and an office building. At least 50 apartments were destroyed.

Two days after the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly recognised Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, Moscow confirmed its status.

The biggest Russian attack on civilian infrastructure in Lviv

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi stated that the city had suffered one of the biggest Russian missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Russians attacked Lviv with 10 Kalibr cruise missiles – Ukraine’s Air Force

During the massive missile attack on Lviv, Russians fired 10 Kalibr cruise missiles, seven of which were shot down, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on the morning of 6 July.

“Around 1 am, the enemy struck from the Black Sea. Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from surface carriers and submarines. Several groups of missiles were spotted heading northwards at first, using the terrain and the Dnipro riverbed, and then abruptly changing course to the west,” the statement said.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video of the aftermath of the attack, and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. Ukrainian President stressed that there would be a revenge for this attack.

Attacks on civilian buildings and infrastructure is a war crime

Russia bombarded residential areas with its cruise missiles in many Ukrainian cities – Kyiv, Kramatorsk, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, and Uman. Towns and cities close to the frontline or the Russian border suffer the most. But Lviv, 1200 km from the frontline and close to the Polish (EU) border, suffered Russian attacks not often.

Russia’s missile attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure have been depicted as possible war crimes by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Amnesty International.

The Geneva Conventions and other protocols shaped by international courts say that parties involved in a military confrontation must differentiate between “civilian objects and military objectives” and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden.

This prohibition is also included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which opened an investigation into possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine needs modern air defence systems to protect civilians against Russian terrorist missile attacks. Despite all efforts and supplies, and success of Ukraine’s Air defences, Ukrainian cities remain vulnerable.