Day 31: Biden visits Poland, rockets hit Ukraine

As President Joe Biden visited Poland on Saturday and called for Western unity against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rockets struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, sending waves of fear across a place that had been a refuge for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing attacks on other parts of the country.

In Lviv, the closest major Ukrainian city to Poland, thick black smoke could be seen coming from the first blast site for hours before a second set of explosions was heard. People sheltered underground after the explosions.

The explosions happened while Biden was in Poland’s capital, Warsaw, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) away. The images of the American president visiting Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid workers in Poland contrasted with images of flames shooting from blast sites and people huddled together in bomb shelters in Lviv.

People shelter underground following explosions in Lviv, western Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

People wait for the arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden to deliver a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, March 26, 2022. Biden is in Poland for the final leg of his four-day trip to Europe as he tries to maintain unity among allies and support Ukraine's defense. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

President Joe Biden arrives to speak about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Royal Castle, in Warsaw, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid workers during a visit to PGE Narodowy Stadium, in Warsaw, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

People watch smoke rising behind buildings following explosions in Lviv, western Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

A Ukrainian police officer is overwhelmed by emotion after comforting people evacuated from Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. Russia continues to pound cities throughout Ukraine — explosions rang out Saturday near the western city of Lviv, a destination for refugees that has been largely spared from major attacks. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A sculpture adorned with a headband designed with the colors of the Ukraine national flag sits on top of a concrete block at a checkpoint in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. With the invasion now in its second month, Russian forces have seemingly stalled on many fronts and are even losing previously taken ground to Ukrainian counterattacks, including around Kyiv. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A machine gun emerges from under the Ukrainian flag on a front line position near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian soldiers rest at a checkpoint in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Dogs peek out from their owner’s roller luggage as they evacuate from Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. Russia continues to pound cities throughout Ukraine — explosions rang out Saturday near the western city of Lviv, a destination for refugees that has been largely spared from major attacks. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Maria Zolotuhina, 30, relaxes while Elena Kovalenko, 54, cuts her hair in "Figaro" hairdressing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. With the invasion now in its second month, Russian forces have seemingly stalled on many fronts and are even losing previously taken ground to Ukrainian counterattacks, including around Kyiv. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

People stay in a metro station being used as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. With the invasion now in its second month, Russian forces have seemingly stalled on many fronts and are even losing previously taken ground to Ukrainian counterattacks, including around Kyiv. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Natalya Vakula, 44, rests in a hospital in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, while recovering from injuries in her leg after a Russian attack in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Personalized grave markers line a mass grave at a cemetery in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 26, 2022. According to workers, most of them died of natural causes and were buried in the mass grave after no relatives claimed the bodies. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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Text from AP News story, AP PHOTOS: Day 31: Biden visits Poland, rockets hit Ukraine

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