The first blast was reported at 5:35 a.m., when a local called the emergency line to report an explosion on the street outside her building, saying the blast wave had shattered her windows.
Police, State Emergency Service rescuers, and bomb disposal technicians responded to the scene, cordoned off the area, and warned residents of the risk of a secondary explosion. A second device detonated while officers were working the scene.
The injured law enforcement officers were hospitalized, but their condition is moderate, and their lives are not in danger. “Further treatment will be outpatient, with no need for hospitalization,” regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said.
The incident follows an updated response protocol announced by Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, having reviewed its own mistakes after a deadly terrorist attack in Lviv on Feb. 22. The response time for the police and the State Emergency Service will now be longer in the event of a reported terrorist threat.
Terrorist attack in Lviv overnight into Feb. 22
Explosions were heard in Lviv overnight into Feb. 22. Around 12:30 a.m., the 102 emergency hotline received a report of an intruder in a store on Danylyshyna Street.
The first explosion occurred when a patrol police crew arrived at the scene. When a second crew arrived, another explosion rang out.
As a result of the attack, 23-year-old police officer Viktoria Shpylka and 30-year-old National Guard serviceman Yosyf Pavlynskyi were killed.
Subsequently, a suspect in the terrorist attack was detained—a 33-year-old resident of Kostopil in Rivne Oblast. Acting on instructions from a handler in the Russian special services, she manufactured homemade explosive devices and placed them in predetermined locations. The woman was charged under Part 3 of Article 258 and Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (committing a terrorist act resulting in the death of a person, as well as illegal handling of weapons).
On Feb. 23, the court remanded the suspect in custody without bail until April 22. The woman faces life imprisonment.