Russian airstrike hits base in western Ukraine, kills 35

Waves of Russian missiles pounded a military training base in western Ukraine on Sunday, killing 35 people in an attack on a facility that has served as a crucial hub for cooperation between Ukraine and the NATO countries supporting it in its defence against Moscow's grinding assault.

More than 30 Russian cruise missiles targeted the sprawling facility, which lies not far from the border with NATO member Poland and that has long been used to train Ukrainian military personnel, often with instructors from the U.S. and other countries in the western alliance.

Poland is also a transit route for Western military aid to Ukraine, and the strikes followed Moscow's threats to target those shipments.

An attack so close to the border was heavy with symbolism in a conflict that has revived the old Cold War rivalries that gave birth to NATO and threatened to rewrite the current global security order.

Since Russia's invasion more than two weeks ago, thousands are thought to have been killed, both civilians and soldiers, and millions have fled their homes amid the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II.

Despite its superior firepower, Russia has struggled in its advance across Ukraine, in the face of stiffer than expected Ukrainian resistance, bolstered by Western weapons support.

Instead, it has besieged several cities and pummelled them with strikes, repeatedly hitting medical facilities and leading to a series of humanitarian crises.

Many civilians have been caught in the barrage, and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said Sunday that at least 85 children have been killed so far.

An American journalist was killed and another wounded when their car was fired upon at a Russian checkpoint Sunday, according to police.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden is sending his national security adviser to Rome to meet Monday with a Chinese official amid concerns that country is amplifying Russian disinformation, and Pope Francis called for peace.

The attacked training base near Yavoriv is less than 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the closest border point with Poland, according to the governor of Ukraine's western Lviv region, and appears to be the westernmost target struck during Russia's 18-day invasion.

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