Russia - Ukraine War: On Day 18, Russian missiles strike targets near NATO's border

As the conflict in Ukraine entered its eighteenth day, the Russian military carried out missile strikes against military targets deep inside Ukraine, and very close to the Polish border - Poland is a member of NATO.

Ukraine's military says eight Russian missiles were fired at Yavoriv, near the Polish border. Reports have also also come in of explosions near the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Ukrainian officials say that Russian forces have conducted a missile strike on a military training centre outside the city of Lviv.

Lviv is only 80km (50 miles) away from the Polish border and a destination for many Ukrainians fleeing from from other parts of the country.

In the initial days of the invasion, Russian forces targeted regions in the north, east and south, including the capital Kyiv. But in recent days Russian forces have been targeting regions in the centre, such as Dnipro, and the west such as Ivano-Frankivsk, as well.

Lviv, a historical and picturesque city known for its cultural heritage, has so far been left untouched.

But it has been bracing for war and carrying out preparations to protect its historical landmarks.

Air raid sirens have been sounded in several parts of Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reports.

Alarms were sounded in Zhytomyr, west of the capital Kyiv, as well as in the Ternopil, Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk regions in the west.

Sirens have also gone off in the Volyn region in the northwest and Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.

Published on: Sunday, March 13, 2022, 11:59 AM IST