35 dead as Russian missile strikes military base near Polish border, says Ukraine: Report

Lviv: A Russian missile attack on a large Ukrainian military facility near the border with NATO member Poland on Sunday killed 35 people and wounded 134, reported Reuters quoting a Ukrainian official.

Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said Russian planes fired around 30 rockets at facility and some were intercepted before they hit. At least 35 people were killed and 134 wounded, he told the news agency.

The 360 square-km (140 square-mile) facility is one Ukraine’s biggest and the largest in the western part of the country.

The Kremlin did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the reported missile strike so close to the border with NATO, and a short video briefing by Russia’s defence ministry spokesman on Sunday made no mention of such an attack.

The incident, just 15 miles (25 km) from the Polish border, marked a “significant escalation” of the conflict.  U.S. President Joe Biden has said NATO will defend every inch of its territory if Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spills over into member states of the Western defense alliance.

Ukraine said foreign military instructors have previously worked at the Yavoriv International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, but a NATO official said there were no personnel from the alliance there. It was not immediately clear whether any non-NATO states might have representatives there.