War in Ukraine | Russian strikes at the gates of NATO

(Novoyavorivsk) In the early morning, the sky caught fire. Russian missiles have knocked on NATO’s doorstep, targeting foreign weapons and fighters. And the war in Ukraine has taken a dangerously darker turn.

Isabelle Hachey
The Press

Martin Tremblay
The Press

At least 35 people were killed and 134 injured in Russian strikes against the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, a military base previously used by the Canadian military to train Ukrainian soldiers.

In Novoiavorivsk, a small town about thirty kilometers from the Polish border, Natalya and Valeriy thought they could escape the war. On Sunday, horror brutally overtook them.

Around 6 a.m., a huge explosion shook the walls of their apartment. From their window, they saw the Yavoriv military base, about five kilometers away, being pounded by Russian missiles.

Inside the base were 1,000 foreign fighters. They were among 20,000 fighters who enlisted in the international legion formed to support Ukrainian forces.

Lviv region governor Maksym Kozytskyi said Russian forces fired more than 30 cruise missiles at the military base’s firing range.

Before the war, this military base had been used as part of Operation Unifier, a Canadian mission that trained 33,000 Ukrainian soldiers in a few years. The mission had been suspended in mid-February.

The nationality of the victims of the strikes has not been disclosed. “Foreign instructors work there,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

When passing from The Press, On Sunday, the military base was inaccessible to journalists, as was the small neighboring municipality of Yavoriv.

Photos circulating on social networks showed barracks in flames. Several hours after the strikes, dozens of ambulances were still circulating between the military base and Lviv, 40 kilometers further east.

Spared so far by the strikes, this city of refuge in the west of the country already hosts 200,000 Ukrainians who have fled the fighting. Every day, the flow of displaced people increases.

But the relative security of Lviv was shaken on Sunday. The murderous attack in this region of Ukraine, which is a vital link with Europe, marks a sinister turning point in this war.

The strikes were, however, predictable. The day before the attack, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister had warned that arms deliveries to Ukraine were “legitimate targets” for Russia.

The Ukrainian authorities repeated in vain on Sunday their urgent calls for the establishment of a no-fly zone over the country. “This is yet another terrorist attack against peace and security near the EU-NATO border. We must act to stop this. Close the sky! pleaded Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

NATO will respond “with all its force” to any attack on its territory, even if it is accidental, for its part warned the national security adviser of the United States, Jake Sullivan, on the program. Face the Nation, on ABC. He said President Joe Biden had “been clear that the United States will work with our allies to defend every inch of NATO territory, and that means every inch.”

Russian soldiers also fired at Ivano-Frankivsk airport, located 170 km southeast of the Yavoriv base.

In Novoiavorivsk, Mayor Volodymyr Vasyliuk gave an unequivocal speech. “Don’t be afraid of Putin. Close the sky! »

Targeted by devastating strikes, the Ukrainians desperately repeat this demand, as the toll of the war increases. In vain. Western countries refuse to establish a no-fly zone to avoid a direct conflict between Russia and NATO member countries.

Mayor Vasyliuk does not believe in this escalation. “As long as you fear Putin, he will continue to do what he wants,” he said during a brief press briefing organized on the sidewalk, in front of a compact mass of foreign journalists.

“Putin’s army will never take Ukraine,” continued the mayor. They can bombard us, but they will never be masters of our land. They will return home in coffins. »