Russia Pounds Ukraine, Targets Supply Of Western Weapons

Uses sea- and air-launched precision guided missiles to destroy electric power facilities at 5 railway stations to disrupt arms delivery

LVIV

RUSSIAN forces pounded targets across Ukraine, taking aim at supply lines for foreign weapons in the west and intensifying an offensive in the east.

The Russian military said on Wednesday it used sea- and airlaunched precision guided missiles to destroy electric power facilities at five railway stations across Ukraine, while artillery and aircraft also struck troop strongholds and fuel and ammunition depots.

The defence minister repeated that Russian forces have blocked off a steel mill in Mariupol - the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance there.

Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, said attacks in the eastern Donbas region left 21 civilians dead. Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, said attacks in the eastern Donbas region left 21 civilians dead.

The flurry of attacks over the past day comes as Russia prepares to celebrate Victory Day on May 9, marking the Soviet Union's defeat over Nazi Germany. This year the world is watching for signs of whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare a limited victory—or expand what he calls a "special military operation" to a wider war.

While the Russian attacks were across a wide swath of the country, some were concentrated in and around Lviv, the western city close to the Polish border that has been a gateway for NATO-supplied weapons.

Explosions were heard late Tuesday in the city, which has seen only sporadic attacks during the war and has become a haven for civilians fleeing the fighting elsewhere. The mayor said the strikes damaged three power substations, knocking out electricity in parts of the city and disrupting the water supply. Two people were wounded.