Putin 'targets Nato weapons' in deadly strike on Ukraine base where foreign advisers work

13 March 2022, 10:32 | Updated: 13 March 2022, 11:16

Russia has struck an air base in western Ukraine
Russia has struck an air base in western Ukraine. Picture: Alamy

By Will Taylor

Vladimir Putin may have targeted weapon shipments from Nato to Ukraine by striking a military base near the border with Poland.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Foreign instructors were confirmed to have been at the air base but it was unclear if any had been hurt.

A total of 35 people were killed in the missile attack at Yaroviv, just 15 miles from the Nato frontier, while 134 were injured.

It comes after Vladimir Putin said Nato's supply of weapons to Ukraine were viable targets as Western missiles obliterate his force's tanks and armoured vehicles - though it is unclear whether materiel from the alliance was at the base at the time of the strike.

Speaking from Poland, LBC presenter Matt Frei, who has been reporting from the war, told Andrew Castle: "Yesterday Vladimir Putin said that those shipments from Nato in Ukraine are a fair target and overnight he was as good as his word and zapped them.

"This is not just pushing the war to the west of Ukraine, it is also getting very, perilously, close to the Nato border, the Polish border."

Read more: Monthly £350 'thank you' payments for Brits who house Ukrainian refugees

Read more: Defiant Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy put forward for knighthood

Matt Frei reports from dual carriageway to Lublin

Speaking about the possibility of people from Nato countries getting caught up in the attack, he said: "If any of them have been killed in this or injured then things get a little bit more serious.

"It doesn't mean automatically Nato gets involved in this, I'm not sure if Putin is just targeting the weapons… it's getting a little bit too close for comfort."

Read more: Russia 'pays high price for every advance' as Putin turns to Middle East mercenaries

Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said: "Russia has attacked the International Center for Peacekeeping & Security near Lviv. Foreign instructors work here. Information about the victims is being clarified."

Former Ukrainian PM calls for greater action from West

Western weapon supplies have been seen as crucial in helping to stall the Russian advance, with anti-tank and anti-air systems being used to great effect.

Kyiv has often put out footage showing armoured vehicles getting destroyed by soldiers armed with missile launchers, ambushing convoys which are forced to flee.

Despite suppling Kyiv with assistance, the US has put a plan to give Ukraine Mig 29 fighter jets from Poland on ice.

Warsaw had hoped to transfer them to American control for onward delivery to Ukraine, and announced it would do so before the US later said it would not happen.

The air base is close to the border with Poland, a Nato member
The air base is close to the border with Poland, a Nato member. Picture: Google Maps

Ukraine's cities are under siege throughout the country, with Russian forces dealing devastating destruction in their attacks.

This week saw them destroy a maternity hospital and a psychiatric care facility in strikes that shocked the world.

Its forces are moving to surround the capital, Kyiv, while Ukrainians mount a strong resistance against them.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Former advisor to President Putin told LBC ‘Ukrainians will be thankful after we liberate them'.

Putin ally suggests Ukrainians should be 'thankful' nation is being 'bombed to bits'

A firefighter inspects a nightclub after a massive fire in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Arrest warrants issued for four people as North Macedonia nightclub fire death toll rises to 59

Newcombe Road, Coventry.

One man dead and another left with 'potentially life-changing facial injuries' following Coventry double stabbing

Streeting suggests Labour discontent is ‘manufactured rebellion’ as he refuses to confirm disability benefits U-turn

Streeting suggests Labour discontent is ‘manufactured rebellion’ as he refuses to confirm disability benefits U-turn

Alice da Silva Aguiar was one of the three children killed.

Fundraiser for playground in memory of Southport victims Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King reaches £250,000

Foreign Office staff enjoyed the Nassau Yacht Club in Barbados, in January 2023, spending £920.

Civil servants splurge on Barbados yacht club trip with taxpayer-backed credit card

Met Police sued after reinstating 999 call handler who mock Sarah Everard and called rape victim a ‘slut’

Met Police sued after reinstating 999 call handler who 'mocked Sarah Everard' and called rape victim a ‘slut’

At least 50 dead after fire rips through nightclub in North Macedonia

At least 50 dead after fire rips through nightclub in North Macedonia

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending an Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

Bombshell US court ruling orders Prince Harry's visa application files be made public by Tuesday

This image made from video by NASA shows astronauts waving after the SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station, Sunday, March 16, 2025. Top row from left: Nick Hague, Alexander Gorbunov, Suni Williams, Alexei Ovchinin.

Over the moon: SpaceX capsule docks with ISS as stranded NASA astronauts welcome replacement crew

F1 Grand Prix Of Australia

Lando Norris wins a wet Australian Grand Prix despite last minute charge from Max Verstappen

Disabled people to be given right to try working without risk of losing benefits in welfare reforms.

Disabled people to be given 'right to try' work without risk of losing benefits

Britain's Prince William, Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), and Kate, the Princess of Wales, Patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), pose for a photo with Leif Thobroe

Royal split: William and Kate cheer on rival sides at Wales take on England in Six Nations clash

Wes Streeting MP - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - in Downing Street 12th March 2025 - the day before NHS England was abolished.

Scrapping NHS England is ‘beginning, not the end’ says Streeting, vowing to cut hundreds of quangos

A view of the pollution caused by garbage and various wastes following the thousands of Palestinians displaced under the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel have returned to the northern Gaza Strip in Jabalia, Gaza on March 13, 2025.

US rejects Hamas’s ‘entirely impractical’ demands to implement ceasefire as talks reach impasse

Antoine Dupont and Gregory Alldritt of France lift the Six Nations Trophy after their team's victory during the Guinness Six Nations 2025 match between France and Scotland at Stade de France

France win Six Nations after beating Scotland, shattering England title hopes