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103-631: The drugstore was established in 1735 by Wilhelm Natorp, a military pharmacist. It was called "Under the Black Eagle". This city of Lviv -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a museum in Ukraine is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lviv Lviv ( / l ə ˈ v iː v / lə- VEEV or / l ə ˈ v iː f / lə- VEEF ; Ukrainian : Львів [ˈlʲwiu̯] ; see below for other names)

206-594: A neutral country and renounce its aspirations to join NATO. Zelenskyy replied that Putin could not be trusted to abide by such a settlement. Ukraine had been a neutral country in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea and invaded the Donbas . On 19 February, Zelenskyy made a speech at the Munich Security Conference , calling for Western powers to drop their policy of " appeasement " towards Moscow and give

309-508: A new Novorossiya . Putin referred to the Kosovo independence precedent and NATO bombing of Yugoslavia as a justification for the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, while historians note the similarities with Nazi Germany's Anschluss of Austria . Because of Russia's occupation of Crimea and its invasion of the Donbas , Ukraine's parliament voted in December 2014 to remove

412-861: A sphere of influence to try to control their neighbours". NATO underlined that it is a defensive alliance , and that it had co-operated with Russia until the latter annexed Crimea. It offered to improve communication with Russia, and to negotiate limits on missile placements and military exercises , provided Russia withdrew its troops from Ukraine's borders, but Russia did not do so. Western leaders vowed that heavy sanctions would be imposed should Putin choose to invade rather than to negotiate. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Putin in February 2022 to dissuade him from an invasion. According to Scholz, Putin told him that Ukraine should not be an independent state. Scholz told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to declare Ukraine

515-724: A European country and the first full-scale war in Europe since the Second World War. Russia launched a simultaneous ground and air attack. Russian missiles struck targets throughout Ukraine, and Russian troops invaded from the north, east, and south. Russia did not officially declare war. It was Russia's largest combined arms operation since the Soviet Union 's Battle of Berlin in 1945. Fighting began in Luhansk Oblast at 3:40 a.m. Kyiv time near Milove on

618-485: A clear time-frame for when Ukraine could join NATO. As political analysts Taras Kuzio and Vladimir Socor agree, "when Russia made its decision to invade Ukraine, that country was more remote than ever not only from NATO membership but from any track that might lead to membership". On 21 February, Putin announced that Russia recognized the Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine as independent states:

721-859: A compromise between belligerents the Polish–Ukrainian War continued until July 1919 when the last UHA forces withdrew east of the River Zbruch . The border on the River Zbruch was confirmed at the Treaty of Warsaw , when in April 1920 Field Marshal Piłsudski signed an agreement with Symon Petlura where it was agreed that in exchange for military support against the Bolsheviks the Ukrainian People's Republic renounced its claims to

824-460: A distorted view of Ukraine, as well as of its own history, and that these distortions were propagated through the state. In December 2021, Russia issued an ultimatum to the West , which included demands that NATO end all activity in its Eastern European member states and ban Ukraine or any former Soviet state from ever joining the alliance. Russia's government said NATO was a threat and warned of

927-675: A first-hand account of the chaotic evacuation of the city by the Austro-Hungarian Army and civilians alike. The town was retaken by Austria-Hungary in June the following year during the Gorlice–Tarnów offensive . Lviv and its population, therefore, suffered greatly during the First World War as many of the offensives were fought across its local geography causing significant collateral damage and disruption. After

1030-524: A ground invasion were launched on a northern front from Belarus towards the capital Kyiv , a southern front from Crimea , and an eastern front from the Donbas and towards Kharkiv . Ukraine enacted martial law , ordered a general mobilization and severed diplomatic relations with Russia . Russian troops retreated from the north and the outskirts of Kyiv by April 2022, after encountering stiff resistance and logistical challenges. The Bucha massacre

1133-655: A historic scene, as here King John II Casimir made his famous Lwów Oath . On 1 April 1656, during a holy mass in Lviv's Cathedral conducted by the papal legate Pietro Vidoni , John Casimir in a grandiose and elaborate ceremony entrusted the Commonwealth under the Blessed Virgin Mary's protection, whom he announced as The Queen of the Polish Crown and other of his countries . He also swore to protect

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1236-535: A major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War , which started in 2014. The invasion, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II , has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties . As of 2024, Russian troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine . From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled

1339-577: A measure to prevent friendly fire . Immediately after the invasion began, Zelenskyy declared martial law in Ukraine in a first video speech. The same evening, he ordered a general mobilisation of all Ukrainian males between 18 and 60 years old, prohibiting them from leaving the country. Wagner Group mercenaries and Kadyrovites contracted by the Kremlin reportedly made several attempts to assassinate Zelenskyy , including an operation involving several hundred mercenaries meant to infiltrate Kyiv with

1442-821: A military response if it followed an "aggressive line". Some of the demands had already been ruled out by NATO. A senior US official said the US was willing to discuss the proposals, but added that there were some "that the Russians know are unacceptable". Eastern European states willingly joined NATO for security reasons, and the last time a country bordering Russia had joined was in 2004. Ukraine had not yet applied, and some members were wary of letting it join. Barring Ukraine would go against NATO's " open door " policy, and against treaties agreed to by Russia itself. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg replied that "Russia has no say" on whether Ukraine joins, and "has no right to establish

1545-795: A missile strike against Kyiv on 6 June after not directly attacking the city for several weeks. On 10 June 2022, deputy head of the SBU Vadym Skibitsky stated that during the Severodonetsk campaign, the frontlines were where the future of the invasion would be decided: "This is an artillery war now, and we are losing in terms of artillery. Everything now depends on what [the west] gives us. Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces. Our western partners have given us about 10% of what they have." On 29 June, Reuters reported that US Intelligence Director Avril Haines, in an update of past US intelligence assessments on

1648-637: A new town) in a basin, surrounded it by walls, and replaced the wooden palace by masonry castle – one of the two built by him. The old (Ruthenian) settlement, after it had been rebuilt, became known as the Krakovian Suburb in reference to the city of Kraków . In 1349, the Kingdom of Ruthenia with its capital Lviv was annexed by the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland . The kingdom was transformed into

1751-543: A number of other names . The coat of arms , the banner of the Lviv City Council and the logo, are the officially approved symbols of Lviv. The names or images of architectural and historical monuments are also considered symbols of the city by the Statute of Lviv. Lviv's modern coat of arms is based on the coat of arms from the city seal in the middle of the 14th century—a stone gate with three towers, and in

1854-607: A pro-German orientation were closed. After the revolutions of 1848 , the language of instruction at the university shifted from German to include Ukrainian and Polish. Around that time, a certain sociolect developed in the city known as the Lwów dialect . Considered to be a type of Polish dialect, it draws its roots from numerous other languages besides Polish. In 1853, kerosene lamps as street lighting were introduced by Ignacy Łukasiewicz and Jan Zeh. Then in 1858, these were updated to gas lamps , and in 1900 to electric ones . After

1957-564: A probative spearhead on 24 February, from Belarus south along the west bank of the Dnipro River . The apparent intent was to encircle the city from the west, supported by two separate axes of attack from Russia along the east bank of the Dnipro: the western at Chernihiv , and from the east at Sumy . These were likely intended to encircle Kyiv from the northeast and east. Russia tried to seize Kyiv quickly, with Spetsnaz infiltrating into

2060-716: A quick victory in Kyiv, Russian forces switched their strategy to indiscriminate bombing and siege warfare. On 25 March, a Ukrainian counter-offensive retook several towns to the east and west of Kyiv, including Makariv . Russian troops in the Bucha area retreated north at the end of March. Ukrainian forces entered the city on 1 April. Ukraine said it had recaptured the entire region around Kyiv, including Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel, and uncovered evidence of war crimes in Bucha . On 6 April, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said that

2163-498: A reconstruction conference in Switzerland that Ukraine needs $ 750bn for a recovery plan and Russian oligarchs should contribute to the cost. The invasion began on 24 February, launched out of Belarus to target Kyiv, and from the northeast against the city of Kharkiv. The southeastern front was conducted as two separate spearheads, from Crimea and the southeast against Luhansk and Donetsk. Russian efforts to capture Kyiv included

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2266-705: A significant centre for Eastern Orthodoxy with the establishment of an Orthodox brotherhood, a Greek-Slavonic school, and a printer which published the first full versions of the Bible in Church Slavonic in 1580. A Jesuit Collegium was founded in 1608, and on 20 January 1661 King John II Casimir of Poland issued a decree granting it "the honour of the academy and the title of the university". The 17th century brought invading armies of Swedes , Hungarians , Turks , Russians and Cossacks to its gates. In 1648 an army of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars besieged

2369-461: A similar landing at Vasylkiv , near Vasylkiv Air Base , on 26 February. By early March, Russian advances along the west side of the Dnipro were limited by Ukrainian defences. As of 5 March, a large Russian convoy , reportedly 64 kilometres (40 mi) long, had made little progress toward Kyiv. The London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) assessed Russian advances from

2472-748: A terrorist state. Protests occurred around the world, with anti-war protesters in Russia being met by mass arrests and greater media censorship . The Russian attacks on civilians have led to allegations of genocide . War-related disruption to Ukrainian agriculture and shipping contributed to a world food crisis , while war-related environmental damage has been described as ecocide . The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into crimes against humanity , war crimes , abduction of Ukrainian children , and genocide against Ukrainians. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova , and for four Russian military officials. After

2575-663: A thoroughly rebuilt form. The town was inherited by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1340 and ruled by voivode Dmytro Dedko , the favourite of the Lithuanian prince Liubartas , until 1349. The city and region was a destination of 50,000 Armenians fleeing from the Saljuq and Mongol invasions of Armenia. During the wars over the succession of Galicia-Volhynia Principality in 1339 King Casimir III of Poland undertook an expedition and conquered Lviv in 1340, burning down

2678-652: A western area of operations toward Mariupol was opened by the Southern Military District , including the 58th , 49th , and 8th Combined Arms Army , the latter also commanding the 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Russian separatist forces in Donbas . By 7 April, Russian troops deployed to the northern front by the Russian Eastern Military District pulled back from the Kyiv offensive, reportedly to resupply and redeploy to

2781-589: Is 296 metres (971 feet) above sea level . Its highest point is the Vysokyi Zamok ( High Castle ), 409 meters (1,342 feet) above sea level . This castle has a commanding view of the historic city centre with its distinctive green-domed churches and intricate architecture. The old walled city was at the foothills of the High Castle on the banks of the Poltva River . In the 13th century, the river

2884-896: Is 745 mm (29 in) with the maximum in summer. Mean sunshine duration per year at Lviv is about 1,804 hours. [REDACTED] Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia c. 1250–1340 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Poland 1340–1569 [REDACTED] Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569–1772 [REDACTED] Austrian Empire / A-H Empire 1772–1914 [REDACTED] Russian Empire 1914–1915 ( occupation ) [REDACTED] Austro-Hungarian Empire 1915–1918 [REDACTED] West Ukrainian People's Republic 1918 [REDACTED] Poland (Second Republic) 1918–1939 [REDACTED]   Soviet Union ( Ukrainian SSR ) 1939–1941 ( occupation ) [REDACTED]   Nazi Germany 1941–1944 ( occupation ) [REDACTED]   Soviet Union ( Ukrainian SSR ) 1944–1991 [REDACTED]   Ukraine 1991– present Archaeologists have demonstrated that

2987-587: Is also the home of many cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet . The city of Lviv is also historically known by different names in other languages – Polish : Lwów [lvuf] ; German : Lemberg [ˈlɛmbɛʁk] or (archaic) Leopoldstadt [ˈleːopɔltˌʃtat] ; Yiddish : לעמבעריק , romanized :  Lemberik ; Russian : Львов , romanized :  Lvov [lʲvof] ; as well as

3090-614: Is committing severe human rights violations in occupied Ukraine. The invasion was met with widespread international condemnation . The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full Russian withdrawal. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to halt military operations, and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The Baltic states and Poland declared Russia

3193-528: Is on the UNESCO World Heritage List ; however, it has been listed as an endangered site due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Due to the city's Mediterranean aura, many Soviet movies set in places like Venice or Rome were actually shot in Lviv. In 1991 , Lviv became part of the independent nation of Ukraine. The city has many industries and institutions of higher education , such as Lviv University and Lviv Polytechnic . Lviv

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3296-602: Is recognised by Poland that ethnographical conditions necessitate an autonomous regime in the Eastern part of Galicia ." This provision was never honoured by the interwar Polish government . After 1923, the region was internationally recognized as part of the Polish state. During the interwar period Lviv was the Second Polish Republic 's third-most populous city (following Warsaw and Łódź ), and it became

3399-432: Is the largest city in western Ukraine , as well as the sixth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of 717,500 (2022 estimate). It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion , and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine . Lviv also hosts the administration of Lviv urban hromada . It was named after Leo I of Galicia , the eldest son of Daniel , King of Ruthenia . Lviv emerged as

3502-687: The 29th , 35th , and 36th Combined Arms Armies . A second axis, deployed towards eastern Kyiv from Russia by the Central Military District (northeastern front), comprised the 41st Combined Arms Army and the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army . A third axis was deployed towards Kharkiv by the Western Military District (eastern front), with the 1st Guards Tank Army and 20th Combined Arms Army . A fourth, southern front originating in occupied Crimea and Russia's Rostov oblast with an eastern axis towards Odesa and

3605-648: The Charter for European Security , affirming the right of each state "to choose or change its security arrangements" and to join alliances. In 2002, Putin said that Ukraine's relations with NATO were "a matter for those two partners". Russian forces invaded Georgia in August 2008 and took control of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia , demonstrating Russia's willingness to use military force to attain its political objectives. The United States "was accused of appeasement and naivete" in their reaction to

3708-767: The First Partition of Poland , the city became the capital of the Habsburg Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria . In 1918, for a short time, it was the capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic . Between the wars, the city was the centre of the Lwów Voivodeship in the Second Polish Republic . After the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, Lviv was annexed by the Soviet Union . The once-large Jewish community of

3811-657: The Royal elections in Poland , alongside other major cities such as Kraków , Poznań , Warsaw or Gdańsk . During the 17th century, it was the second largest city of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , with a population of about 30,000. In 1572, one of the first publishers of books in what is now Ukraine, Ivan Fedorov , a graduate of the University of Kraków , settled here for a brief period. The city became

3914-714: The Russian Defence Ministry stated that the first stage of the "military operation" in Ukraine was "generally complete", that the Ukrainian military forces had suffered serious losses, and the Russian military would now concentrate on the "liberation of Donbas ." The "first stage" of the invasion was conducted on four fronts, including one towards western Kyiv from Belarus by the Russian Eastern Military District , comprising

4017-507: The Union of Active Struggle . Two years later, the paramilitary organisation, called the Riflemen's Association , was also founded in the city by Polish activists. At the same time, Lviv became the city where famous Ukrainian writers (such as Ivan Franko , Panteleimon Kulish and Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky ) published their work. It was a centre of Ukrainian cultural revival. The city also housed

4120-625: The collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy at the end of the First World War, Lviv became an arena of battle between the local Polish population and the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen . Both nations perceived the city as an integral part of their new statehoods which at that time were forming in the former Austrian territories. On the night of 31 October – 1 November 1918 the Western Ukrainian People's Republic

4223-863: The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the newly independent states of the Russian Federation and Ukraine maintained cordial relations. In return for security guarantees, Ukraine signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1994, agreeing to dismantle the nuclear weapons the former USSR had left in Ukraine. At that time, Russia, the UK, and the USA agreed in the Budapest Memorandum to uphold Ukraine's territorial integrity. In 1999, Russia signed

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4326-710: The neutrality clause from the Constitution and to seek Ukraine's membership in NATO . However, it was impossible for Ukraine to join NATO at the time, as any applicant country must have no "unresolved external territorial disputes". In 2016, President of the European Commission , Jean-Claude Juncker , said that it would take 20–25 years for Ukraine to join the EU and NATO. The Minsk agreements , signed in September 2014 and February 2015, aimed to resolve

4429-405: The old princely castle . Poland ultimately gained control over Lviv and the adjacent region in 1349. From then on the population was subjected to attempts to both Polonize and Catholicize the population. The Lithuanians ravaged Lviv land in 1351 during the Halych-Volhyn Wars with Lviv being plundered and destroyed by duke Liubartas in 1353. Casimir built a new city center (or founded

4532-476: The Austrian part of the Dual Monarchy, but the Galician Sejm and provincial administration, both established in Lviv, had extensive privileges and prerogatives, especially in education, culture, and local affairs. In 1894, the General National Exhibition was held in Lviv. The city started to grow rapidly, becoming the fourth largest in Austria-Hungary, according to the census of 1910. Many Belle Époque public edifices and tenement houses were erected, with many of

4635-465: The City of Lwów (since 1891), the Polish Copernicus Society of Naturalists , the Polish Historical Society , Lwów University , with Polish as the official language since 1882, the Lwów Scientific Society , the Lwów Art Gallery , the Polish Theatre , and the Polish Archdiocese . Furthermore, Lviv was the centre of a number of Polish independence organisations. In June 1908, Józef Piłsudski , Władysław Sikorski and Kazimierz Sosnkowski founded here

4738-520: The Crimean Parliament . Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, after a widely disputed referendum held under occupation. Pro-Russian unrest immediately followed in the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk . The war in Donbas began in April 2014 when armed Russian-backed separatists seized Ukrainian government buildings and proclaimed the independent Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic . Russian troops were directly involved in these conflicts. The annexation of Crimea and

4841-449: The Crown was transformed into the Ruthenian Voivodeship . In 1444, the city was granted the staple right , which resulted in its growing prosperity and wealth, as it became one of the major trading centres on the merchant routes between Central Europe and Black Sea region. It was also transformed into one of the main fortresses of the kingdom. As one of the largest and most influential royal cities of Poland, it enjoyed voting rights in

4944-606: The Donbas region in an effort to reinforce the renewed invasion of southeastern Ukraine. The northeastern front, including the Central Military District, was similarly withdrawn for resupply and redeployment to southeastern Ukraine. On 26 April, delegates from the US and 40 allied nations met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss the formation of a coalition that would provide economic support in addition to military supplies and refitting to Ukraine. Following Putin's Victory Day speech in early May, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said no short term resolution to

5047-426: The Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. The following day, Russia announced that it was sending troops into these territories as "peacekeepers", and the Federation Council of Russia authorised the use of military force abroad. Before 5 a.m. Kyiv time on 24 February, Putin, in another speech , announced a " special military operation ", which effectively declared war on Ukraine. Putin said

5150-595: The Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians ", in which he called Ukraine "historically Russian lands" and claimed there is "no historical basis" for the "idea of Ukrainian people as a nation separate from the Russians". Days before the invasion, Putin claimed that Ukraine never had "real statehood" and that modern Ukraine was a mistake created by the Russian Bolsheviks . American historian Timothy Snyder described Putin's ideas as Russian imperialism . British journalist Edward Lucas described it as historical revisionism. Other observers found that Russia's leadership held

5253-474: The Jewish and Ukrainian quarters of the city, killing approximately 340 civilians (see: Lwów pogrom ). The retreating Ukrainian forces besieged the city. The Sich riflemen reformed into the Ukrainian Galician Army (UHA). The Polish forces aided from central Poland, including General Haller's Blue Army , equipped by the French, relieved the besieged city in May 1919 forcing the UHA to the east. Despite Entente mediation attempts to cease hostilities and reach

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5356-439: The Kingdom's folk from any impositions and unjust bondage . Two years later, John Casimir, in honor of the bravery of its residents, declared Lviv to be equal to two historic capitals of the Commonwealth, Kraków and Vilnius . In the same year, 1658, Pope Alexander VII declared the city to be Semper fidelis , in recognition of its key role in defending Europe and Roman Catholicism from the Ottoman Muslim invasion. In 1672 it

5459-514: The Lviv area was settled by the fifth century, with the gord at Chernecha Hora -Voznesensk Street in Lychakivskyi District attributed to White Croats . The city of Lviv was founded in 1250 by King Daniel of Galicia (1201–1264) in the Principality of Halych of Kingdom of Ruthenia . It was named in honor of his son Lev as Lvihorod which is consistent with names of other Ukrainian cities, such as Myrhorod , Sharhorod , Novhorod , Bilhorod , Horodyshche , and Horodok . Earlier there

5562-401: The Russian "retraction, resupply, and redeployment" of their troops from the Kyiv area should be interpreted as an expansion of Putin's plans for Ukraine, by redeploying and concentrating his forces on eastern Ukraine. Kyiv was generally left free from attack apart from isolated missile strikes. One did occur while UN Secretary-General António Guterres was visiting Kyiv on 28 April to discuss

5665-411: The Russian invasion", was not entirely sure of the comment's accuracy. Reporter Glenn Kessler said it came from "a single source, but on the surface it appears to be a good one." Russian forces advancing on Kyiv from Belarus gained control of the ghost town of Chernobyl . Russian Airborne Forces attempted to seize two key airfields near Kyiv, launching an airborne assault on Antonov Airport , and

5768-442: The Russian invasion, said that US intelligence agencies agree that the invasion will continue "for an extended period of time ... In short, the picture remains pretty grim and Russia's attitude toward the West is hardening." On 5 July, BBC reported that extensive destruction by the Russian invasion would cause immense financial damage to Ukraine's reconstruction economy, with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal telling nations at

5871-408: The Ruthenian domain of the Crown with Lviv as the capital. On 17 June 1356 King Casimir III the Great granted it Magdeburg rights , which implied that all city matters were to be resolved by a council elected by the wealthy citizens. In 1362, the High Castle was completely rebuilt with stone replacing the previous wood. In 1358, the city became a seat of Roman Catholic Archdiocese , which initiated

5974-400: The agreement, choosing closer ties to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union instead. This coerced withdrawal triggered a wave of protests known as Euromaidan , culminating in the Revolution of Dignity in February 2014. Yanukovych fled and was removed from power by parliament, ending up in Russia. Russian soldiers with no insignia occupied the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, and seized

6077-401: The aim of killing the Ukrainian president. The Ukrainian government said anti-war officials within Russia's FSB shared the plans with them. Zelenskyy appeared defiant in his first and following video message , showing in another on 25 February, that he and his cabinet is still in Kiyv. On 26 February NATO met and its countries pledged military aid for Ukraine and on 27 February Germany called

6180-421: The border with Russia. The main infantry and tank attacks were launched in four spearheads, creating a northern front launched towards Kyiv from Belarus, a southern front from Crimea, a southeastern front from Russian-controlled Donbas, and an eastern front from Russia towards Kharkiv and Sumy . Russian vehicles were subsequently marked with a white Z military symbol (a non- Cyrillic letter ), believed to be

6283-400: The buildings from the Austrian period, such as the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet , built in the Viennese neo-Renaissance style. At that time, Lviv was home to a number of renowned Polish-language institutions, such as the Ossolineum , with the second-largest collection of Polish books in the world, the Polish Academy of Arts , the National Museum (since 1908), the Historical Museum of

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6386-402: The centre of the historical regions of Red Ruthenia and Galicia in the 14th century , superseding Halych , Chełm , Belz , and Przemyśl . It was the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia from 1272 to 1349, when it was conquered by King Casimir III the Great of Poland . From 1434, it was the regional capital of the Ruthenian Voivodeship in the Kingdom of Poland . In 1772, after

6489-413: The city supported by airborne operations and a rapid mechanised advance from the north, but failed. The United States contacted Zelenskyy and offered to help him flee the country, lest the Russian Army attempt to kidnap or kill him on seizing Kyiv; Zelenskyy responded that "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride." The Washington Post , which described the quote as "one of the most-cited lines of

6592-599: The city was murdered in large numbers by the Nazis and during the Holocaust . For decades there was no working synagogue in Lviv after the final one was closed by the Soviets . The greater part of the once-predominant Polish population was sent to Poland during a population exchange between Poland and Soviet Ukraine in 1944–46. The historical heart of the city, with its cobblestone streets and architectural assortment of Renaissance , Baroque , Neo-classicism and Art Nouveau , survived Soviet and German occupations during World War II largely unscathed. The historic city centre

6695-439: The city's population was Roman Catholics , 28% Jews, and 19% belonged to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church . Linguistically, 86% of the city's population used the Polish language and 11% preferred Ruthenian . In 1773, the first newspaper in Lemberg, Gazette de Leopoli , began to be published. In 1784, a Latin language university was opened with lectures in German , Polish and even Ruthenian ; after closing in 1805, it

6798-571: The city's population). In 1772, following the First Partition of Poland , the region was annexed by the Habsburg monarchy to the Austrian Partition . Known in German as Lemberg , the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria . Lemberg grew dramatically during the 19th century, increasing in population from approximately 30,000 at the time of the Austrian annexation in 1772, to 196,000 by 1910 and to 212,000 three years later; rapid population growth brought about an increase in urban squalor and poverty in Austrian Galicia . In

6901-466: The city) lay outside the territory of Poland and that Poland did not have the mandate to establish administrative control in that country, and that Poland was merely the occupying military power of Galicia (as a whole ), whose sovereign remained the Allied Powers and fate would be determined by the Council of Ambassadors at the League of Nations. On 14 March 1923, the Council of Ambassadors decided that Galicia would be incorporated into Poland "whereas it

7004-440: The conflict, but ceasefires and further negotiations repeatedly failed. There was a large Russian military build-up near the Ukraine border in March and April 2021, and again in both Russia and Belarus from October 2021 onward. Members of the Russian government, including Putin, repeatedly denied having plans to invade or attack Ukraine, with denials being issued up to the day before the invasion. The decision to invade Ukraine

7107-417: The country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. In late 2021, Russia massed troops near Ukraine's borders and issued demands including a ban on Ukraine ever joining the NATO military alliance. After repeatedly denying having plans to attack Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a " special military operation ", saying that it

7210-432: The illegal annexation of four partly-occupied provinces . In November, Ukraine liberated Kherson . In June 2023, Ukraine launched another counteroffensive in the southeast, but made few gains. After small but steady Russian advances in the east in the first half of 2024, Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive into Russia's Kursk Oblast in August of that year. The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that Russia

7313-534: The invasion a historic watershed. That day in the evening Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrence into alert. The Russian invasion was unexpectedly met by fierce Ukrainian resistance. In Kyiv, Russia failed to take the city and was repulsed in the battles of Irpin , Hostomel , and Bucha . The Russians tried to encircle the capital, but its defenders under Oleksandr Syrskyi held their ground, effectively using Western Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to thin Russian supply lines and stall

7416-840: The invasion should be expected. Ukraine's reliance on Western-supplied equipment constrained operational effectiveness, as supplying countries feared that Ukraine would use Western-made matériel to strike targets in Russia. Military experts disagreed on the future of the conflict; some suggested that Ukraine should trade territory for peace, while others believed that Ukraine could maintain its resistance due to Russian losses. By 30 May, disparities between Russian and Ukrainian artillery were apparent, with Ukrainian artillery being vastly outgunned, in terms of both range and number. In response to US President Joe Biden 's indication that enhanced artillery would be provided to Ukraine, Putin said that Russia would expand its invasion front to include new cities in Ukraine. In apparent retribution, Putin ordered

7519-494: The invasion. In 2013, Ukraine's parliament overwhelmingly approved finalising an association agreement with the European Union (EU). Russia had put pressure on Ukraine to reject it. Kremlin adviser Sergei Glazyev warned in September 2013 that if Ukraine signed the EU agreement, Russia would no longer acknowledge Ukraine's borders. In November, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych suddenly withdrew from signing

7622-1006: The largest and most influential Ukrainian institutions in the world, including the Prosvita society dedicated to spreading literacy in the Ukrainian language, the Shevchenko Scientific Society , the Dniester Insurance Company and base of the Ukrainian cooperative movement , and it served as the seat of the Ukrainian Catholic Church . However, the Polish-dominated city council blocked Ukrainian attempts to create visible monumets for their own. The most important streets had names referring to Polish history and literature, and only minor roads referred to Ukrainians. Lviv

7725-510: The late 18th and early 19th centuries a large influx of Austrians and German-speaking Czech bureaucrats gave the city a character that by the 1840s was quite Austrian, in its orderliness and in the appearance and popularity of Austrian coffeehouses. During Habsburg rule, Lviv became one of the most important Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish cultural centres. In Lviv, according to the Austrian census of 1910, which listed religion and language, 51% of

7828-601: The local archdiocese has developed into the Roman Catholic Metropolis , which since 1375 as diocese had been in Halych . The new metropolis included regional diocese in Lviv, Przemyśl , Chełm , Włodzimierz , Łuck , Kamieniec , as well as Siret and Kijów (see Old Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kyiv ). The first Catholic Archbishop who resided in Lviv was Jan Rzeszowski. In 1434, the Ruthenian domain of

7931-441: The north and east as "stalled." Advances from Chernihiv largely halted as a siege began there . Russian forces continued to advance on Kyiv from the northwest, capturing Bucha , Hostomel and Vorzel by 5 March, though Irpin remained contested as of 9 March. By 11 March, the lengthy convoy had largely dispersed and taken cover. On 16 March, Ukrainian forces began a counter-offensive to repel Russian forces. Unable to achieve

8034-641: The offensive. On the southern front, Russian forces had captured the regional capital of Kherson by 2 March. A column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles was ambushed on 9 March in Brovary and sustained heavy losses that forced them to retreat. The Russian army adopted siege tactics on the western front around the key cities of Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv, but failed to capture them due to stiff resistance and logistical setbacks. In Mykolaiv Oblast , Russian forces advanced as far as Voznesensk , but were repelled and pushed back south of Mykolaiv. On 25 March,

8137-412: The opening of the gate walks a golden lion. Lviv's large coat of arms is a shield, with the coat of arms of the city, crowned with a silver crown with three edges, held by a lion and an ancient warrior. Lviv's flag is a blue square banner with an image of the city emblem and with yellow and blue triangles at the edges. Lviv's logo is an image of five colorful towers in Lviv and the slogan "Lviv — open to

8240-406: The operation was to "protect the people" of the Russian-controlled breakaway republics. He falsely claimed that they had "been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime." Putin said that Russia was being threatened: he falsely claimed that Ukrainian government officials were neo-Nazis under Western control, that Ukraine was developing nuclear weapons, and that a hostile NATO

8343-458: The seat of the Lwów Voivodeship . Following Warsaw, Lviv was the second most important cultural and academic centre of interwar Poland. For example, in 1920 Professor Rudolf Weigl of Lwów University developed a vaccine against typhus fever . Furthermore, the geographic location of Lviv gave it an important role in stimulating international trade and fostering the city's and Poland's economic development. A major trade fair named Targi Wschodnie

8446-665: The settlers were polonised by the end of the 15th century, and the city became a Polish island surrounded by the Ruthenian Orthodox population. In 1356, the Armenian diocese was founded centered at the Armenian Cathedral . Lwów was one of two main cultural and religious centers of Armenians in Poland alongside Kamieniec Podolski . In the early modern period , it also became one of the largest concentrations of Scots and Italians in Poland. In 1412,

8549-530: The so-called " Ausgleich " of February 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into a dualist Austria-Hungary and a slow yet steady process of liberalisation of Austrian rule in Galicia started. From 1873, Galicia was de facto an autonomous province of Austria-Hungary , with Polish and Ruthenian as official languages. Germanisation was halted and censorship lifted as well. Galicia was subject to

8652-511: The spread of Latin Church onto the Ruthenian lands. After Casimir had died in 1370, he was succeeded as king of Poland by his nephew, King Louis I of Hungary , who in 1372 put Lviv together with the region of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia under the administration of his relative Vladislaus II of Opole , Duke of Opole. When in 1387 Władysław retreated from the post of its governor, Galicia-Volhynia became occupied by Hungary , but soon Jadwiga ,

8755-407: The survivors of the siege of Mariupol with Zelenskyy. One person was killed and several were injured in the attack. Russian forces advanced into Chernihiv Oblast on 24 February, besieging its administrative capital within four days of fighting . On 25 February Ukrainian forces lost control over Konotop . As street fighting took place in the city of Sumy , just 35 kilometres (22 mi) from

8858-659: The territories of Eastern Galicia. In August 1920, Lviv was attacked by the Red Army under the command of Aleksandr Yegorov and Stalin during the Polish–Soviet War but the city repelled the attack . For the courage of its inhabitants Lviv was awarded the Virtuti Militari cross by Józef Piłsudski on 22 November 1920. On 23 February 1921, the council of the League of Nations declared that Galicia (including

8961-495: The town around 1270 at its present location, choosing Lviv as his residence, and made it the capital of Galicia-Volhynia. Around 1280 Armenians lived in Galicia and were mainly based in Lviv where they had their own archbishop . In the 13th and early 14th centuries, Lviv was largely a wooden city, except for its several Galician-style stone churches. Some of them, like the Church of Saint Nicholas, have survived, although in

9064-532: The town. They captured the High Castle , murdering its defenders. The city itself was not sacked due to the fact that the leader of the revolution Bohdan Khmelnytsky accepted a ransom of 250,000 ducats, and the Cossacks marched north-west towards Zamość . It was one of two major cities in Poland which was not captured during the so-called Deluge : the other one was Gdańsk . At that time, Lviv witnessed

9167-404: The war in Donbas sparked a wave of Russian nationalism . Analyst Vladimir Socor called Putin's 2014 speech following the annexation a "manifesto of Greater-Russia irredentism ". Putin began referring to " Novorossiya " (New Russia), a former Russian imperial territory that covered much of southern Ukraine. Russian-backed forces were influenced by Russian neo-imperialism and sought to create

9270-534: The world" under them. The Latin phrase Semper fidelis ('Always faithful') was used as a motto on the former coat of arms of 1936–1939, but was no longer used after the Second World War . Lviv is on the edge of the Roztochia Upland , about 70 kilometres (43 miles) east of the Polish border and 160 km (99 mi) north of the eastern Carpathian Mountains . The average altitude of Lviv

9373-417: The youngest daughter of Louis, and also the ruler of Poland and wife of King of Poland Władysław II Jagiełło , unified it directly with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland . The city's prosperity during the following centuries is owed to the trade privileges granted to it by Casimir, Queen Jadwiga , and the subsequent Polish monarchs. Germans, Poles and Czechs formed the largest groups of newcomers. Most of

9476-514: Was a settlement in the form of a borough with a characteristic layout element—an elongated market square. Daniel's foundation of the stronghold was its next reconstruction after the Batu Khan invasion of 1240. Lviv was invaded by the Mongols in 1261. Various sources relate the events, which range from the destruction of the castle to a complete razing of the town. All sources agree that it

9579-701: Was also a major centre of Jewish culture, in particular as a centre of the Yiddish language , and was the home of the world's first Yiddish-language daily newspaper, the Lemberger Togblat , established in 1904. In the Battle of Galicia at the early stages of the First World War , Lviv was captured by the Russian army in September 1914 following the Battle of Gnila Lipa . The Lemberg Fortress fell on 3 September. The historian Pál Kelemen provided

9682-407: Was building up its forces and military infrastructure in Ukraine. He said Russia sought the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, and espoused views challenging the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state. Putin said he had no plans to occupy Ukraine. The invasion began within minutes of Putin's speech. The invasion began at dawn on 24 February. It was described as the biggest attack on

9785-809: Was established in 1921. In the academic year 1937–1938, there were 9,100 students attending five institutions of higher education, including Lwów University as well as the Polytechnic . Russian invasion of Ukraine Eastern Ukraine campaign Southern Ukraine campaign Other regions Naval operations Spillover & related incidents Eastern Ukraine campaign Southern Ukraine campaign Other regions Spillover & related incidents Eastern Ukraine campaign Southern Ukraine campaign Other regions Naval operations Spillover & related incidents Post-Minsk II conflict Attacks on civilians Related On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in

9888-554: Was on the orders of the Mongol general Burundai . The Shevchenko Scientific Society says that Burundai issued the order to raze the city. The Galician-Volhynian chronicle states that in 1261 "Said Buronda to Vasylko: 'Since you are at peace with me then raze all your castles'". Basil Dmytryshyn states that the order was implied to be the fortifications as a whole: "If you wish to have peace with me, then destroy [all fortifications of] your towns". After Daniel's death, King Lev rebuilt

9991-708: Was proclaimed with Lviv as its capital. 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers from the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (Sichovi Striltsi), which had previously been a corps in the Austrian Army, made an attempt to take over Lviv. The city's Polish majority opposed the Ukrainian declaration and began to fight against the Ukrainian troops. During this combat an important role was taken by young Polish city defenders called Lwów Eaglets . The Ukrainian forces withdrew outside Lwów's confines by 21 November 1918, after which elements of Polish soldiers began to loot and burn much of

10094-470: Was reopened in 1817. By 1825, German became the sole language of instruction. Lemberg University was opened by Maria Theresa in 1784. By 1787, her successor Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor opened "Studium Ruthenum" for students who did not know enough Latin to take regular courses. During the 19th century, the Austrian administration attempted to Germanise the city's educational and governmental institutions. Many cultural organisations which did not have

10197-519: Was reportedly made by Putin and a small group of war hawks or siloviki in Putin's inner circle, including national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev and defence minister Sergei Shoigu . Reports of an alleged leak of Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) documents by US intelligence sources said that the FSB had not been aware of Putin's plan to invade. In July 2021, Putin published an essay " On

10300-515: Was surrounded by the Ottomans who also failed to conquer it. Three years later, the Battle of Lwów (1675) took place near the city. Lviv was captured for the first time since the Middle Ages by a foreign army in 1704 when Swedish troops under King Charles XII entered the city after a short siege. The plague of the early 18th century caused the death of about 10,000 inhabitants (40% of

10403-529: Was to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk , whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the Donbas conflict since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist and neo-imperialist views challenging Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, falsely claimed that Ukraine was governed by neo-Nazis persecuting the Russian minority , and said that Russia's goal was to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine. Russian air strikes and

10506-439: Was uncovered after their withdrawal. In the southeast, Russia launched an offensive in the Donbas and captured Mariupol after a destructive siege . Russia continued to bomb military and civilian targets far from the front, and struck the energy grid through the winter months. In late 2022, Ukraine launched successful counteroffensives in the south and east , liberating most of Kharkiv province . Soon after, Russia announced

10609-671: Was used to transport goods. In the early 20th century, the Poltva was covered over in areas where it flows through the city; the river flows directly beneath Lviv's central street, Liberty Avenue  [ uk ] , and the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet . Lviv's climate is humid continental ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ) with cold winters and warm summers. The average temperatures are −3 °C (27 °F) in January and 18 °C (64 °F) in July. The average annual rainfall

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