Russia launches missile attacks in Lviv

Kiev : A Russian missile hit rail lines in the western Lviv region, a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Lviv region Gov. Maksym Kozytskyy said five people were wounded in the strike, adding that more information would be available Thursday. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the country’s interior minister, said the Russians hit the Beskidy railway tunnel in the Carpathian Mountains in an apparent effort to cut a key railway link and disrupt shipments of weapons and fuel. However, the head of Ukrainian railways said the damage to the railroad was still being assessed but the tunnel was spared. The strike reportedly delayed three passenger trains, but all later resumed their journeys. Russian forces have seized a part of Severodonetsk city, the administrative centre of the Ukraine-controlled part of the eastern Luhansk region, the General Staff of the country’s Armed Forces said. Meanwhile, Sergey Gaidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said on Facebook that Russia seized some 80 per cent of Severodonetsk, reports Xinhua news agency. Street fighting in the city continued and Ukrainian forces carried out counter-attacks in some parts of Severodonetsk, Gaidai said. Ukrainian troops captured six Russian soldiers during the battle for the key city, he added. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russians are preparing mop-up operation around Severodonetsk.