Russia struck an arms depot near Kyiv overnight, sparking fires and explosions that killed 37 people and wounded dozens of others, authorities said on Saturday.
Plumes of black smoke loomed over the capital’s western suburbs, while Ukraine’s rescue services reported homes near the blast epicentre in flames.
The attack was
the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in less than two months, with officials expressing anger that arms were still being stored so close to residential areas.
Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other in recent months, pushing civilian casualties to their highest level since Moscow invaded in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X: “Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions… ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas.”
The blast forced hundreds to evacuate and damaged multiple homes, including a care facility for elderly and disabled people, he added.
At least 37 people were killed, among them the mayor of the nearby town of Dmytrivka.
Residents in the area told AFP the explosion was “terrifying”.
Yana Doneli, resident of a nearby town, said: “We thought we were being bombed. No one knew it was a detonation.”
The depot was owned by the Ukrainian military and stored drones, shells and other munitions, Zelenskyy said in a video address.
He blamed the incident on “horrific negligence”, saying ammunition should not have been stored there.
Ukrainian prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into criminal negligence.
The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said: “On 28 August around 8.10pm an unmanned aerial vehicle… fell on or struck the grounds of an enterprise in the town of Myla.
“A large-scale fire broke out on the enterprise’s grounds, and detonation began.”
The prosecutor’s office said that its investigation would focus on “the legality of the… storage of explosive objects and materials on the enterprise’s grounds.”
