INTERNATIONAL: Firefighters battled to put out a blaze in Ukraine's western city of Lviv on Tuesday night 3rd May after explosions hit power stations.

It was the first time that the western Ukrainian city had been rocked by such explosions at the same time.

The explosions caused citywide power outages.

Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the blasts were caused by missile attacks that damaged three power substations at two pump stations, and the municipal authorities were using backup power sources to supply water.

Lviv mayor Adriy Sadoviv said air strikes had cut off electricity in some districts and injured two people.

The city's military administration said in a statement that six missiles struck the city from the Caspian Sea. Two of the missiles were shot down, three others hit the power substations, and the sixth one hit Ukraine's westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast.

Reuters could not immediately verify reports of battlefield developments.

The western city of Lviv has been spared most of the fighting since Russia launched its invasion. Located near the Polish border, Lviv is hundreds of miles from Russia's advance and it have been one of the main destinations for Ukrainians forced to flee battle zones.

Russia has turned its heaviest firepower on Ukraine's east and south since failing to take Kyiv, the capital, in March. They also struck targets much further west in a drive to limit Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, vital for its grain and metal exports, and also to disrupt supplies of Western military aid to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's force.

^{PHOTO: FIREFIGHTERS BATTLING BLAZE FOLLOWING BLASTS IN LVIV}