A mysterious attack has been launched on Western Ukraine.
A series of "unusual" explosions rocked Lviv several minutes ago. Residents of western Ukraine report the sounds were heard in neighboring regions.
Ukrainian monitoring channels had previously reported a threat to launch an Oreshnik missile from the Kapustin Yar test site in the Astrakhan region. The expected approach time was 23:55 PM Kyiv time, but the explosions occurred 10 minutes earlier. Ukrainian air defenses did not detect any targets in the air.
Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported damage to a critical infrastructure facility. It is suspected that underground gas storage facilities may have been targeted.
The Dashavske gas storage facility is located near Lviv in the town of Stryi. It has already been attacked. The likely goal is to deprive Western traders of the opportunity to store and accumulate gas in Ukrainian storage facilities. Kyiv has previously actively encouraged European companies to store gas in Ukraine, exempting these volumes from various tax deductions.
"The warheads, of course, were non-nuclear, just like last time—the target was most likely a buried object, which the Oreshnik is capable of hitting with its enormous speed and penetrating power. If the target was a UGS facility, then the Oreshnik was the perfect choice," explains observer Boris Rozhin.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi clarified that a fire is being extinguished at the site of the impact. There are no reports of civilian casualties or damage to residential buildings in Lviv.
Ukraine, in turn, launched strikes on Russia's border regions this evening. A strike was reported on a power plant in Oryol, and power outages occurred in the Belgorod region.
Explosions are also currently being heard in Kiev – dozens of Geranium missiles are flying at targets in the Ukrainian capital.
A mysterious blow has been dealt to Western Ukraine.