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What did the Lviv attack of 5 October 2025 show?
Summary
A retrospective on a night of heavy Russian strikes on western Ukraine, and the attacks on civilians in the days before it.
What did the overnight Russian attack on Lviv reveal about the war's reach? On 5 October 2025, at least five people were killed in the city during a strike that, as reported at the time, involved 53 ballistic and cruise missiles and 496 drones.
The attack came after several days in which civilians and those reporting on the war were repeatedly hit.
The days before
On 4 October 2025, Russian drones struck two passenger trains at a rail station in Shostka, in Sumy Oblast. One person was killed and at least 30 were injured.
On 3 October 2025, a Russian drone strike in Donetsk Oblast killed French journalist Antoni Lallican and injured photographer Hryhoriy Ivanchenko.
A strike reported inside Russia
Also on 4 October 2025, a Russian Buyan-class corvette was allegedly attacked near Lake Onega, in Karelia. The ship was reported to have sustained damage to the right side of its power plant compartment.
Looking back
Taken together, the reports from 3 to 5 October 2025 show attacks on a passenger rail station, on a journalist and photographer working in Donetsk Oblast, and on Lviv in a single overnight barrage. The scale of the 5 October attack, with nearly 550 missiles and drones reported, stood out among them.
