Russian missiles strike a fuel facility in Lviv, Ukraine, less than 250 miles from where President Biden was visiting Ukrainian refugees in Poland<\/p>\n
Vladimir Putin<\/strong><\/a>‘s forces hit Ukraine’s western city of Lviv with three missile this evening, leaving five people hurt in an apparent message to U.S. President Joe Biden<\/strong><\/a> who is just 245 miles away visiting refugees in Poland<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Pictures from the city showed a huge fireball and thick black smoke rising over the rooftops of a residential area in the northeast of the city, in what was the first major attack on Lviv since Russia<\/strong><\/a>‘s invasion began on February 24.<\/p>\n Moscow signalled on Friday it was scaling back its military ambitions to focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east.<\/p>\n But at around 14.30 GMT two rockets hit the outskirts of Lviv, some 40 miles from the Polish border, a city that so far have escaped the heavy bombardment and fighting that has devastated some Ukrainian cities closer to Russia.<\/p>\n A third strike was reported a few hours later later by the city’s mayor, who said the attack had ‘significantly damaged’ city infrastructure, but had not damaged residential buildings.<\/p>\n Less than 300 miles away, the U.S. president was wrapping up a visit to NATO member Poland, where he called Russia’s president a ‘butcher’\u00a0during a meeting with refugees who have fled the war in Ukraine to the Polish capital.<\/p>\n The United Nations has confirmed 1,081 civilian deaths and 1,707 injuries in Ukraine since the invasion but says the real toll is likely higher. Ukraine says 136 children have been killed.\u00a0More than 2 million people have fled the war to Poland. Altogether, about 3.8 million who have left Ukraine since fighting began.<\/p>\n The Kremlin hit back at Biden’s description of Putin\u00a0saying ‘a state leader must remain sober-minded’.<\/p>\n ‘Such personal insults are narrowing down the window of opportunity for our bilateral relations under the current (US) administration. One should be aware of this,’ said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.<\/p>\n