In deadliest Russian attack this year, 37 killed in Kyiv ammunition depot strike, probe launched into weapons storage

New Delhi: Thirty-seven people were killed after a Russian drone targeted an ammunition warehouse near Kyiv, which caused massive explosions and fires into nearby residential areas and damaged at least 50 homes. The strike on Friday night in Myla, west of the Ukraine capital, has become the deadliest Russian attack in Ukraine this year while also triggering scrutiny over why shells, mines and other ammunition were being stored so close to civilians.

More than 370 people were evacuated as the explosions ripped through the village, with fires spreading from the warehouse to surrounding buildings. Local officials later said 34 of those killed were residents of a care facility for elderly and disabled people.

The Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the facility was operated by the country’s defence force and contained shells, mines, other ammunition and drones. He said such storage site should not have been located near residential areas and confirmed that criminal proceedings had been opened.

“Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions,” Zelenskyy said.

The attack came as Russia continued an intense wave of missile and drone strike against Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine. Oleksandr Vodolaz, who lives in the village, told the Associated Press that the drone hit the warehouse at about 8pm, followed by a series of detonations. He said that residents were not aware about the weapons stored at the site. The discovery has prompted anger among residents over the decisions to keep ammunition in a populated area. Another local resident questioned why weapons were being stored there rather then being used at the front.

Zelenskyy called the incident a “terrible situation” and described the storage of explosives near homes as “terrible negligence”. He said Ukrainian law does not allow the storage of ammunition close to residential areas.

The Ukraine prime minister, Serhiy Koretsky, also reacted to the incident, saying law enforcement authorities are investigating the circumstances of the tragedy and that criminal proceedings have been opened. “In the fifth year of the full-scale war, we cannot allow tragedies like the one in Vyshneve and this one in Bucha district to happen again,” he said.

The 37 deaths in Myla exceed the 31 fatalities from Russia’s July 2 strike on Kyiv, which had previously been the year’s deadliest attack. The tragedy has also revived concerns over safety at Ukrainian ammunition facilities. In July, an ammunition depot in Vyshneve, a suburb of Kyiv, was hit, killing 22 people and causing explosions and fires that spread into nearby residential areas.

Russia’s version of warehouse strike

Moscow has described the target differently. The Russia’s defence ministry, said its forces struck a warehouse containing components and launch boosters for long-range drones. It also claimed strikes on the ports of Mykolaiv and Izmail, as well as logistics centre and warehouse facilities in the Kyiv region that it said contained components for Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missiles.

In southern Kherson, Russia strikes damaged houses and apartments buildings on Saturday, killing two people and injuring 27, including a child regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said. He also warned that attacks on critical infrastructure in the region have intensified, raising fears of prolonged power and heating disruption during winter. He has requested tens of thousands residents to move to safer areas.

The Myla attack comes as Russia expands its use of jet- powered drones, adding another challenge for Ukraine’s air-defence network. Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office, said Russia was increasing its deployment of system because of their effectiveness. Ukraine has been developing interceptor drones capable of targeting them, but Palisa said those systems have yet to deliver the expected results.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is escalating its own long-range drone activity against Russian military industries and energy infrastructure. Kyiv says the strikes are designed to disrupt Russia’s war economy and bring the consequences of the conflict deeper into Russian territory.

Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine wants to eventually launch as many as 1,000 long-range drones a day. He said the country is currently averaging more than 300 such strikes and that the figure needs to rise. Russia’s defence ministry, said its forces destroyed 313 Ukrainian drones overnight on Saturday.

In Russia’s Rostov region, Ukrainian drone attacks wounded 11 people, according to regional governor Yuri Slyusar. Nine people, including four children, were hospitalized.