A Russian missile strike kills four people in Lviv.

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian missiles killed At least four people and dozens of homes in Lviv were destroyed early Thursday in what officials say was the largest attack on the western Ukrainian city since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than 16 months ago.

Authorities said the ages of the victims ranged from 21 to 95 and warned people could still be trapped under the rubble.

More than 30 people were injured in the pre-dawn attack on Lviv, which is hundreds of miles from the front lines and largely spared the war’s worst violence. President Volodymyr Zelensky promised a response, saying on Twitter it would be a “strong one”.

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces fired 10 Kalibr cruise missiles from aircraft carriers and submarines in the Black Sea. Seven missiles were intercepted, the military said, while others hit the apartment complex and other locations.

“This is the biggest attack on Lviv’s civilian infrastructure since the start of the large-scale invasion,” Andriy Sadovyi, the city’s mayor, said in a video posted to Twitter, showing him in front of wrecked cars, broken windows and littered rubble. on the street. He said more than 50 apartments had been destroyed.

Maksym Kozytskyy, de head of the regional military administrationsaid a piece of critical infrastructure was also damaged, but gave no details.

In the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lviv was considered relatively safe given its proximity to the border with Poland, a NATO member. But it remains well within range of Moscow’s missiles as fighting rages on the front lines.

Throughout the war, Russian forces have shifted their tactics with missile and drone strikes, testing and trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defense systems. That’s what happened early Thursday, according to the Ukrainian military, which said several groups of missiles were spotted moving north on radar before “suddenly changing course” to the west.

Hours after the attack, as rescuers and firefighters cleared chunks of debris from the blast site, a crowd of about 100 people had gathered to watch and wait for police permission to re-enter the damaged buildings. The air was filled with dust; broken glass crackled underfoot.

Students from a nearby dorm sat on a ping pong table and watched the scene. Many were wearing mismatched clothing and packed everything they could put on before running for shelter when the sirens sounded.

Air raid sirens began wailing in parts of Ukraine – including the capital Kiev – around 1:30 am before spreading to other regions. An hour later, the entire country was marked “red” on online warning maps, with the Ukrainian Air Force warning that several missiles were heading west.

The first reports of explosions in Lviv soon followed. Authorities said air defenses were working and urged residents to stay in shelters.

“It was very loud,” wrote Mr. Kozytskyy, the head of the regional administration Telegram app just before 3am, urging people to stay in a safe place.

After everything was made safe around 3:20 am, ambulance sirens sounded in the city.

Stanislav Kozliuk contributed reporting from Lviv.