At least 37 people have been killed after a Russian drone strike hit a weapons depot near Kyiv. The strike triggered powerful explosions and forced hundreds of residents to flee nearby communities.
According to BBC, the attack struck a facility in the village of Myla in the Bucha district late on Friday. As a result, stored shells, mines and drones detonated and surrounding residential buildings were damaged.
Kyiv weapons depot strike leaves dozens dead
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the explosion caused extensive destruction. This included damage to a care facility housing older people and persons with disabilities.
As rescue operations continued on Saturday, authorities said 42 people had been injured, including four children. In addition, more than 380 residents were evacuated from the affected area.
Zelensky described the storage of explosive materials so close to residential buildings as “terrible negligence.”
“There are regulations in place — ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas,” he said.
He confirmed that criminal proceedings had been opened over alleged official negligence. He also warned that those responsible for decisions surrounding the facility would be investigated.
Ukraine investigates weapons storage
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said investigators would examine whether the placement and storage of explosive materials near residential properties complied with the law.
Officials who approved or permitted the storage arrangement are also expected to come under scrutiny.
The Russian Ministry of Defence acknowledged striking the facility. It described the site as an ammunition depot containing components and launch boosters for Ukraine’s FP-1 and FP-2 long-range drones.
Rescue workers continued searching through rubble on Saturday as authorities warned that the death toll could still rise.
Fresh Russian strikes hit Ukraine
The deadly explosion came amid another wave of Russian drone attacks across Ukraine.
A 14-year-old was reportedly killed in a separate strike in the Boryspil district. Meanwhile, a two-year-old child died after a Russian drone crashed in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district.
Five other people, including an 18-year-old woman, were injured in fresh attacks on the Ukrainian capital on Saturday morning.
Zelensky also reported overnight strikes in Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia. At the same time, Ukraine’s military said its air defences shot down 233 Russian drones.
Ukraine and Russia have intensified long-range attacks in recent months. Military, logistics and economic facilities have increasingly been targeted on both sides of the conflict.
The investigation into the Myla depot is continuing. Ukrainian authorities seek to establish why large quantities of explosives were stored close to civilians.
