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In the early hours of Sunday, the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, usually seen as among the most secure locations in the country, endured one of its most serious attacks since the beginning of Vladimir Putin's comprehensive invasion.

For five hours, Moscow's Shahed drones and missiles struck the city, situated about 70 kilometers from the Polish border. Large explosions were audible from the downtown area, a Unesco world heritage site.

Victims and Destruction Across the Country

Nationwide, at least five people lost their lives – four individuals in the region of Lviv and another in the city of Zaporizhzhia. Additionally, 14 individuals were injured. Included among the casualties was a teenage girl, who perished along with three other family members when their home was impacted.

Sections of Lviv was experienced power outages, according to the mayor. Major blazes broke out in multiple locations, including a civilian industrial park in the south of the city.

While the pungent odor of burning and fumes engulfed the city, the regional governor encouraged residents to keep windows shut and avoid venturing outdoors or to use gas masks or respirators.

Regional Responses and Defense Measures

Poland's air force reported it deployed fighter aircraft and took preventive action to protect its airspace following a previous violation by Russian decoy drones. There were also multiple unmanned aircraft observations in recent days in European Union nations such as Denmark and Germany.

• More than 50 missiles and about five hundred unmanned assault vehicles were involved in the attack.
• Weaponry comprised long-range guided missiles, Iranian-designed Shaheds and high-speed ballistic rockets.
• Multiple areas were affected, among them Ivano-Frankivsk region, Zaporizhzhia oblast, Odesa, Kherson, Sumy region, Kharkiv oblast and Chernihiv.

Call for Global Assistance

The nation's leader urged international partners to help boost air defences and to impose a no-fly zone – a measure that has so far been approached cautiously.

"A unilateral ceasefire in the skies is attainable – and it is exactly this which could pave the path to genuine negotiations. America and Europe must take action to compel Putin cease," the statement emphasized.

Over the past few days, Russia has targeted the nation's power facilities, leading to power blackouts in several areas, a tactic employed in the approach to winter for the past three years. At the same time, Ukraine continues to target fuel infrastructure deep inside Russian territory with its domestically developed long-range drones.

Cultural Consequences

The city was underway of the yearly Lviv BookForum, with authors and attendees gathered in the city for a major literary events in the region.

In addition to Ukrainian writers, such as literary figures Artur Dron and Julia Musakovska, there were global participants including UK-based award-winning author Fiona Benson, and, joining by remote connection, the Booker prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo, and the Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk.

On Sunday morning, ash was continuing to descend on the streets of Lviv, as fatigued residents ventured out and attended church services. The damaged wreckage of a Russian drone lay on a sidewalk near a block of flats, cordoned off with red tape.