Kyiv Weapons Depot Strike Kills 37 and Sparks Negligence Investigation
A Russian drone strike on a military ammunition depot near a residential area on the outskirts of Kyiv has left at least 37 people dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 400 residents. The attack, which occurred late on Friday, triggered massive secondary explosions of stored shells, mines, and drones, causing widespread devastation in the surrounding village of Myla in the Bucha district.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly condemned the placement of the weapons depot, stating that the storage site "definitely shouldn't have been there." He announced that an investigation has been launched into what he described as "terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosive right next to people." The blast damaged numerous nearby properties, including a care home for the elderly and disabled.
Negligence Investigation Launched After Secondary Blasts
The explosion in Myla has sparked intense public anger, as it marks the second time in recent months that a munitions depot near the capital has been hit. Regional head Tymur Tkachenko reported that 42 people, including four children, were injured in the Friday night blast. Emergency services continued a rescue operation at the site on Saturday.
According to Russia's Ministry of Defence, its forces targeted an ammunition depot in Myla holding components and launch boosters for FP-1 and FP-2 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles. President Zelensky indicated that the depot was operated by Ukraine's armed forces. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general has opened criminal proceedings on charges of official negligence and is reviewing the legality of storing explosive materials near residential buildings.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed deep regret over the incident, noting that lessons had not been learned from a similar disaster in July. In that previous incident, a strike on an ammunition warehouse in Vyshneve caused secondary explosions that killed nine people, injured dozens, and damaged over 280 homes. An investigation into the Vyshneve blast revealed serious regulatory failures by a state-owned company.
"In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence," Koretsky wrote on Telegram. He demanded that everyone responsible face severe punishment to prevent future occurrences.
Severe Damage to Residential Areas
The Friday night blast damaged approximately 130 homes in Myla. Local residents expressed shock and anger over the decision to store military explosives so close to their homes. Liubov Pavlenko, 45, whose home is located about 200 meters from the warehouse, described the extensive damage to her property.
"Everything is completely damaged," Pavlenko said. "There are cracks all around the entire perimeter, and cracks around the windows. Basically, the structural integrity has been compromised." She added that she remained numb and anticipated a larger emotional breakdown once the initial shock wore off.
Another local resident, 61-year-old Borys Daniyluk, questioned why the authorities and the Ministry of Defence allowed weapons to be stored in a facility that previously held food. "Why were ammunition and weapons stored there, next to a populated village? There are no words, just emotions," Daniyluk said.
Escalating Aerial Attacks Across the Region
The strike in Myla occurred amid a broader wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine and Russia. In separate incidents near Kyiv, a 14-year-old was killed in the Boryspil district, and a two-year-old died after a Russian drone crashed in Obolonskyi, according to regional head Tkachenko and Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko. Five people were also injured in fresh strikes on the capital on Saturday morning.
Local officials reported that five people were killed across Ukraine over the past day. President Zelensky noted overnight strikes in Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia, while the Ukrainian military reported shooting down 233 Russian drones.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has continued targeting economic infrastructure inside Russia and occupied territories. Ukrainian drone strikes targeted facilities belonging to Ozon, a major Russian online retailer, hitting a logistics centre overnight and forcing the suspension of operations at another. Ozon facilities in Krasnodar, Dagestan, Stavropol, and Adygea were also hit earlier in the week. Additionally, Ukraine has targeted sites belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, which Kyiv claims supplies military components.
In Russia, local officials reported two deaths and 25 injuries from strikes in the Belgorod and Rostov regions over a 24-hour period. In the occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, a Moscow-appointed official stated that four people were injured in a Ukrainian strike on a shopping centre.
