Russia Claims to Kill 180 Mercenaries in Ukraine's Lviv

A Russian strike on the Yavoriv training facility near the Ukrainian city of Lviv killed "up to 180 foreign mercenaries," a statement by the Defense Ministry said Sunday.

In addition, a "large batch of foreign weapons" was also destroyed, said the statement, carried by TASS news agency.

"Foreign mercenaries arriving in Ukraine will continue to be eliminated," ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying.

Neither side's version of events could be independently verified.

Ukrainian regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said 35 people were killed and 134 wounded in the attack.

Konashenkov said Russia had used high precision long-range weapons to strike Yavoriv and a separate facility in the village of Starichi. He said both bases were being used to train foreign mercenaries and store weapons.

The attack came one day after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow considered convoys of Western arms shipments to Ukraine to be legitimate targets.