Ukrainian officials said Tuesday a Russian air attack on the northwestern city of Lutsk killed at least three people and wounded several others.
Regional governor Yuriy Poguliaiko said the Russian attack hit a business in Lutsk.
Officials also reported widespread damage in the western city of Lviv after Russia targeted the area with missiles Tuesday.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram there were no casualties, but that the attack damaged more than 100 apartments and destroyed a kindergarten.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed 16 of 28 missiles Russia launched at the country.
Presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Russia had used cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to attack residential and industrial buildings in Lutsk, Lviv and Dnipro.
“Deliberate large-scale attacks on civilians. Solely for the sake of killing and psychological pressure,” Podolyak said.
US aid
The United States announced Monday a new security assistance package valued at $200 million for Ukraine. U.S. officials said it’s the first installment of a $6.2 billion aid package previously authorized under presidential drawdown authority guaranteeing the speedy delivery of existing Pentagon stockpiles to Ukraine.
The aid includes air defense munitions, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities, and additional mine-clearing equipment, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Two U.S. officials told the Reuters news agency last Monday that the U.S. government would commit the $6.2 billion in funds to Ukraine after discovering a Pentagon accounting error that had overvalued billions of dollars of aid.
In May, the Pentagon said it had mistakenly overvalued U.S. weaponry shipped to Kyiv by inputting “replacement value” instead of “depreciated value” to calculate the billions’ worth of ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine. The accounting error works to Kyiv’s benefit because more equipment can be sent.
Washington is currently working on a supplemental budget request to continue aid to Kyiv, the U.S. officials said.
“Every day, Russia is killing Ukrainian civilians and destroying civil infrastructure, while also weaponizing hunger and contributing to global food insecurity through its destruction of Ukraine’s civilian ports and grain infrastructure,” Blinken said in his statement.
“Russia started this war and could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks. Until it does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes,” he added.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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