A Russian strike near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv has left at least 37 people dead, marking one of the most lethal attacks recorded in the country this year. The incident occurred in the Bucha district, where a fire ignited by the strike swept through the area, damaging at least 50 residential buildings. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration, confirmed the extent of the destruction, while reports indicated that 34 of the victims were residents of a local care facility for the elderly and disabled.
The attack occurred during the third consecutive day of intense Russian air raids, which have significantly disrupted civilian life and strained the capital’s economy more than four and a half years into the conflict. President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the event as a “terrible situation” and cited “terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people.” According to the President, a warehouse in the village of Myla was struck, triggering a secondary detonation.
Zelensky emphasized that Ukrainian law strictly prohibits the storage of ammunition near civilian housing and confirmed that criminal proceedings have been initiated. He vowed that those responsible for the decision to store weapons at the site would be held accountable. In a related development, the President announced that two officials from state-owned entities, including the major arms producer Ukroboronprom, are under investigation for their roles in authorizing the storage of weapons at a facility in Vyshneve.
Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi drew parallels to a July incident in Vyshneve, where an ammunition depot strike killed 22 people and caused widespread damage. He expressed frustration that previous tragedies had not served as a sufficient warning, stating that repeating such errors during the fifth year of the invasion constitutes criminal negligence. Meanwhile, evacuation efforts for the affected area in Bucha remain ongoing.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed the Myla site was being used to store components and launch boosters for long-range drones. The ministry also reported strikes on logistics and warehouse facilities in the Kyiv region housing parts for Flamingo cruise missiles, as well as attacks on the ports of Mykolaiv and Izmail.
The broader aerial campaign has seen near-constant drone and missile activity across Ukraine since Thursday. Officials suggest that Russia is attempting to deplete Ukrainian air defenses by launching high-volume attacks every few days. Beyond the Kyiv region, Russian strikes on the southern Kherson region on Saturday resulted in two additional deaths and 27 injuries. Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson regional administration, stated that these attacks damaged residential blocks and noted that one child was among those wounded. The report also notes that choking the economy in the Ukrainian capital and severely disrupting civilian life more than 4½ years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the strike comes as almost constant Russian air raids on Kyiv reach their third day. The report also notes that but wrote in the same message that Ukrainian law forbade the storage of ammunition close to civilian homes and that criminal proceedings had been opened, he did not give details on the site. The report also notes that but referenced an attack on the Kyiv suburb of Vyshneve early in July, which hit an ammunition depot, killing 22 and triggering large detonations and fires that tore through nearby homes, ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi also didn’t offer information on the warehouse targeted.
Source: Gulf Today
