KYIV: At least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone strike on an ammunition depot near Kyiv triggered a major explosion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as authorities ordered a nationwide review of weapons storage facilities and launched a criminal investigation into suspected negligence.
The attack took place late on Friday at a military facility in Myla, a village in the Kyiv region where artillery shells, mines and drones were reportedly being stored.
The initial strike set off a series of explosions and fires that swept through the site, killing dozens and injuring many others. Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the blasts damaged nearby houses and other civilian infrastructure.
A facility providing care for elderly people and people with disabilities was also affected. The head of a neighbouring village was among those killed after going to the area to assist following the attack.
Zelensky described the incident as a “terrible situation” and said those responsible for the storage of weapons would face scrutiny over what he characterised as serious failures in keeping explosives away from populated areas.
Ukrainian authorities have opened criminal proceedings over suspected official negligence. The Defence Ministry has also instructed those responsible for weapons storage to carry out a comprehensive audit of facilities across the country.
The incident is the second major explosion at a weapons storage site in the Kyiv region in roughly two months. Last month, 10 people were killed in Vyshneve when a Russian strike triggered explosions at another facility, causing extensive damage to hundreds of homes.
Kyiv faces sustained aerial attacks
The deadly depot blast came as Kyiv and surrounding areas endured a third consecutive day of heavy Russian aerial attacks.
Zelensky said nine other Ukrainian regions had also come under attack overnight, while describing Kyiv as facing almost continuous strikes involving jet-powered drones.
Air-raid sirens sounded repeatedly across the capital on Saturday as Ukrainian air-defence units attempted to repel successive waves of drones. The attacks also caused civilian casualties elsewhere in the Kyiv region.
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Regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said a 14-year-old girl was killed in a drone attack in the Boryspil district. In Kyiv itself, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a two-year-old girl died after being struck by debris from a drone that had been brought down by Ukrainian air defences.
Russia claims battlefield gains
Meanwhile, fighting continued along the front line, with Russia claiming further territorial gains.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had taken control of Khrapivshchyna in Ukraine’s Sumy region, along with Novoandriivka and Rubizhne in the Donetsk region.
The claims could not be independently verified. Ukraine, meanwhile, continued to target locations inside Russian territory.
Officials in Russia’s Belgorod region said three people had been killed and nine wounded in an attack that also sparked a fire at a warehouse operated by online retailer Ozon. In Crimea, the governor of Sevastopol said one person was killed in a separate strike.
Peace efforts remain stalled
The latest escalation came as diplomatic efforts to end the war remained deadlocked.
Moscow continues to demand substantial territorial concessions from Kyiv, while the Ukrainian government has rejected such conditions, arguing that accepting them would amount to capitulation.
US-led efforts to revive negotiations have so far failed to produce a breakthrough. CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier in the week amid the intensifying attacks and continuing uncertainty over prospects for renewed peace talks.
