A Russian drone and missile attack killed seven people in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, one day after a strike on a military facility killed more than 50 people in the eastern city of Poltava in one of the worst air strikes of the war, leaving residents in shock over the loss of life and scale of destruction.
The missile and drone attacks on Lviv, Kyiv, and other cities began shortly after midnight and continued into the predawn hours on September 4. Among the seven dead were four members of one family in Lviv. A man identified by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy as Yaroslav Bazylevych was left as the only survivor in his family after his wife and three daughters were killed.
A photo shared on social media showed all five posing together with one of the daughters holding a bouquet of sunflowers.
Yaroslav Bazylevych and his family.
"His wife Yevhenia and their three daughters -- Yaryna, 21, Daryna, 18, and Emilia, 7 -- were killed in their own home" Sadoviy said. "I don't know what words to say to support Yaroslav -- the father. Today we are all with you."
According to authorities and eyewitnesses, there were two heavy strikes that destroyed or damaged residential buildings, cultural monuments, and educational institutions in Lviv.
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Ukrainian officials also warned of emergency power outages due to the attack. In a statement on Telegram, the ministry did not detail the damage at six energy facilities but said there were ongoing risks to energy supplies as the government reduced output at a southern nuclear power plant.
The barrage followed one of the deadliest attacks in a single strike when at least 53 people were killed and 271 injured by Russian ballistic missiles at a military facility in the city of Poltava in central Ukraine, according to the State Emergency Service.
More than 60 of the people injured were in serious condition, the regional military administration said. Regional Governor Philip Pronin declared a three-day mourning period starting September 4.
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Families Rush To Poltava, Ukraine, After Strike On Military Facility Kills Dozens
The director of the Energy Research Center, Oleksandr Kharchenko, said a power unit at the South Ukraine (Pivdennoukrayinsk) nuclear power plant had added two more periodic shutdowns on September 4.
He said that "high-voltage networks are being restored" by state operator Enerhoatom but warned against exceedingly optimistic predictions for continuing repairs.
The further concerns about energy supplies come as a UN nuclear team led by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi is visiting the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhya to "continue our assistance & help prevent a nuclear accident."
Grossi met with senior Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on September 3 before saying he was setting out for Zaporizhzhya, which is near an area of near-constant shelling.
Russian forces have waged an intense bombardment campaign on Ukrainian power infrastructure throughout the 36-month-old invasion but particularly over the past six months.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine was already seeing Moscow's response to Kyiv's attacks in an apparent reference to Kyiv's incursion into Russia's Kursk region, which began a month ago, and frequent shelling and drone attacks on Russia's Belgorod region.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on September 4 that three people had been killed by shelling in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka .
The September 3 attack by Russia on Poltava sparked fresh pleas by Kyiv for Western partners to allow long-range strikes into Russia and a strong condemnation of Russia's "deplorable attack" by U.S. President Joe Biden.
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Ukraine's Defenses Under Scrutiny After Russian Air Strike Kills Dozens At Military Site
In Kryviy Rih, local politician Oleksandr Vilkul said five people were hurt but none seriously when a rocket hit a civilian infrastructure facility in the center of the city. He said at least 10 high-rise buildings including a hotel were damaged.
Ukrainian officials also said objects in the Black Sea were targeted by Russian fire including Snake Island, a strategically located piece of land that Ukrainian forces retook in the initial days of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are grappling with fallout from the dual Russian strike on the Military Communications Institute in the city of Poltava.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the Prosecutor-General's Office announced separately that investigations were being launched into the circumstances of the incident.
Criticism emerged soon after the blast as reports suggested that cadets were gathered in large numbers for an outdoor graduation or other ceremony, providing an opportunity for Russia's military to target them.
The attack is believed to be the deadliest single attack since May 2022, when Zelenskiy said 87 soldiers were killed at a military training center in the northern Chernihiv region.
Vladyslav Seleznev, a Ukrainian military analyst and former spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian military, said the Kremlin was to blame but there must also be a clear understanding of Kyiv's responsibility.
Zelenskiy again urged Ukraine's supporters to step up the supply of air-defense systems and long-range missiles that can "defend against Russian terror," he said. "Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lives lost."
U.S. President Biden called the Russian missile attack on the Poltava facility "deplorable" and pledged more military aid to Kyiv.
"I condemn this deplorable attack in the strongest possible terms," Biden said, adding that further aid to Ukraine would include "providing the air defense systems and capabilities they need to protect their country."