At least 37 dead and hundreds evacuated after drone strike on Kyiv warehouse

Thirty-seven people have died and almost 400 have been evacuated after a Russian drone strike hit a depot storing weapons for Ukraine's military near a residential area on the outskirts of Kyiv. The strike caused shells, mines, and drones to detonate late on Friday, triggering a blast that damaged nearby properties, including a care home for the elderly and disabled, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. He stated that the storage site "definitely shouldn't have been there" and that an investigation had been launched into "terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people." The attack is the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in recent months, prompting renewed anger. Four children are among the 42 people injured in Friday night's explosion, according to regional head Tymur Tkachenko, with a rescue operation ongoing at the site in the Bucha district on Saturday. Russia's Ministry of Defence stated that its forces had targeted "an ammunition depot" in Myla, a village to the west of the Ukrainian capital, holding "components and launch boosters for FP-1/FP-2 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles." The explosion damaged about 130 homes in the village. Local resident Liubov Pavlenko, 45, reported that her home, located around 200 meters from the ammunition warehouse, sustained significant damage. "There are cracks all around the entire perimeter, and cracks around the windows. Basically, the structural integrity has been compromised," she said. Zelensky described the decision to store explosives in the village as "absolutely unacceptable," adding that "criminal proceedings have been opened on charges of official negligence." The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general is reviewing the "legality of the placement and storage of explosive objects and materials" near residential buildings in Myla. The investigation will also examine the actions of officials who made the relevant decisions. Zelensky noted that "there are regulations in place - ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas," emphasizing that "appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn." He referenced a previous strike on an ammunition warehouse in Vyshneve in July, which resulted in a secondary detonation that killed nine and injured dozens more, damaging over 280 homes. The recent explosion has raised questions about why munitions were stored so close to populated areas, especially given the frequency of Russian aerial attacks. Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed regret that a "lesson" had not been learned following the Vyshneve explosion, which revealed serious failings on the part of a state-owned company regarding compliance with regulations on explosive storage. Zelensky indicated that the Myla depot had been operated by Ukraine's armed forces. "In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence," Koretsky stated on Telegram, asserting that everyone responsible must face severe punishment to prevent future incidents. Meanwhile, Tkachenko reported that a 14-year-old was killed in a separate attack in the Boryspil district, and Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko stated that a two-year-old had died after a Russian drone crashed in Obolonskyi. He added that five people, including an 18-year-old girl, were injured in fresh strikes on the capital on Saturday morning. Five people have been killed across the country over the past day, according to local officials. Zelensky reported further overnight strikes in Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia, as the Ukrainian army claimed to have shot down 233 Russian drones. Russia and Ukraine have been intensifying their aerial attacks in recent months, with Kyiv focusing its operations on Russian economic targets. Ukraine has recently targeted sites belonging to Wildberries, the country's largest online retailer, labeling the firm as a legitimate target due to its supply of components to the military, which Moscow denies. An investigation has been launched into whether ammunition was being stored in the warehouse west of the capital. In Russia, local officials reported two deaths and 25 injuries in strikes in the Belgorod and Rostov regions over the past 24 hours. The Moscow-appointed governor of the occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia stated that four people were injured after a Ukrainian strike hit a shopping center. Russian online retailer Ozon reported that one of its logistics centers had been hit in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike, leading to the suspension of operations at a second logistics center and the evacuation of staff due to safety concerns. The retailer's facilities in Krasnodar, Dagestan, Stavropol, and Adygea were targeted in strikes earlier this week, resulting in injuries and significant damage.