Two dead in Lviv as Russia continues to target Ukranian infrastructure

A Russian cruise missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine's western Lviv region has killed two people, officials said yesterday.

The attack destroyed a building and sparked a fire, governor Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on social media app Telegram. Rescue operations are ongoing.

In the Kharkiv region, officials said an air attack killed an 19-year-old man after a projectile hit a petrol station.

Meanwhile, thousands in Ukraine's Odesa region were temporarily left without power yesterday after debris from a downed Russian drone caused a blaze at an energy facility.

Governor Oleh Kiper said 170,000 homes were left with temporary power outages as a result of the attack.

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down nine of the 11 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia overnight, as well as nine out of 14 cruise missiles. Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent days, causing significant damage in several regions. Ukrainian energy company Centrenergo announced on Saturday that the Zmiiv thermal power plant, one of the largest in the eastern Kharkiv region, was completely destroyed following Russian shelling last week. Power outage schedules are still in place for around 120,000 people in the region, where 700,000 had lost electricity after the plant was hit on March 22.

In a message yesterday to mark the date when some of Ukraine's Christians celebrate Easter, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the country to persevere.

"There is not a day or night right now when Russian terror does not try to shatter our lives," he said. "Last night, we once again saw rockets and Shaheds launched against our people.

"We defend ourselves, we persevere; our spirit does not give up and knows that death can be averted. Life can win."

Ukraine's Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter Sunday according to the Gregorian calendar. The country's religious majority, Orthodox Christians, follow the Julian calendar, which in 2024 places Easter on May 5.