Russia Expands Frontlines, Airstrikes Reach Western Ukraine

On the 12th (local time), a shoe factory in Dnipro, a key city in east-central Ukraine, was reduced to ruins by a missile attack from Russian forces.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Russian forces invading Ukraine are expanding their attack range to the western region of Ukraine.

According to major foreign media on the 13th (local time), Russian forces conducted an airstrike on Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport in western Ukraine. Roslan Marchynkiv, mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, stated, "An explosion caused by a Russian attack occurred at the airport early this morning." No casualties have been confirmed.

This city, close to the western borders of Ukraine with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, is located just over 100 km south of Chernivtsi, where the Ukrainian Embassy in Korea has evacuated from the capital Kyiv (Kiyev). Ambassador Kim Hyung-tae and embassy staff arrived in Chernivtsi on the 2nd and are temporarily assisting Korean nationals and their families with evacuation efforts.

In addition, Russian forces appear to be intensifying airstrikes on the western border areas of Ukraine. Early this morning, Russian forces bombed a training facility located 25 km from the Polish border. The Lviv regional military authorities stated in a press release, "The occupiers (Russian forces) attacked the International Peacekeeping and Security Center (IPSC)," adding, "According to reports, they launched eight missiles." If this airstrike is confirmed, it would be the first attack on Ukraine's westernmost region since the invasion.

Ukraine announced that nine people were killed and 57 injured in this attack. The British Guardian, citing rescue teams, reported that the death toll could exceed 20.

The IPSC is a Ukrainian military training facility located in Yavoriv, 40 km northwest of Lviv city in western Ukraine. It is only 25 km from the Ukraine-Poland border. According to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the IPSC is a facility where Ukrainian and foreign troops safely train to remove and handle landmines.

Oleksii Resnikov, Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, condemned the attack on Twitter, stating, "The IPSC is a place where peacekeeping forces also train, and until just before the war, foreign instructors including NATO troops worked there," calling it "a terrorist attack on peace and stability near the borders of the European Union (EU) and NATO."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.