Kyiv launches criminal probe into arms depot attack that killed dozens

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a criminal investigation after a Russian attack on a warehouse storing munitions killed at least 37 people near Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

“A criminal investigation is under way. All the facts must be established,†Zelenskyy said in a video shared on X Saturday.

Zelenskyy denounced the “terrible negligence†on the part of those who stored explosives right next to residential buildings, and said that the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Commander-in-Chief have “everything necessary for the investigationâ€.

The Russian drone attack killed at least 37 people overnight on Friday in the town of Myla, near Kyiv's western suburbs. Huge explosions followed the attack on the warehouse, which stored munitions, authorities said on Saturday.

“Unfortunately, the number of dead in the Bucha district has risen to 37… Rescuers and all relevant services are continuing their operations at the scene of the tragedy,†the governor of the Kyiv region, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram on Saturday.

Tkachenko said that at least 50 residential buildings had been damaged in the attack, which caused a large-scale fire that spread to homes and a restaurant. Nearly 400 people â â were being evacuated from the strike area, and dozens of injuries were reported. Among the dead was Taras Didych, mayor of the village of Dmytrivka, Tkachenko added.

The warehouse appeared to have been storing “explosive objectsâ€, according to Ukrainian prosecutors, who also said they are opening an investigation into criminal negligence. The investigation would focus on “the legality of the storage of explosive objects and materials on the enterprise's groundsâ€, as well as whether the company responsible, which was not named, had the “necessary permits and approvalsâ€.

 

“There are regulations in place – ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas,†a previous statement from Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi both expressed regret that a “lesson†had not been learned after a previous deadly attack in July in Vyshneve, near Kyiv, on a munitions depot. That investigation revealed serious failings on the part of a state-owned company, which did not comply with standards to store ammunition well away from residential buildings.

“In the fifth year of [Russia's] full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence,†Koretskyi said on Telegram. “Everyone responsible, without exception, must face severe punishment so that such situations never happen again.â€

Russia launched at least two missiles and 267 drones at Ukraine between late Friday and early Saturday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

In addition to the warehouse strike, Russian attacks early on Saturday killed three people, including a two-year-old in Kyiv and a 14-year-old girl in the capital's outer suburbs, officials said.

In Russia, at least three people were killed and â â nine wounded in a Ukrainian ‌‌drone attack in the Belgorod region, local authorities â â said on Telegram. Three of â â the injured â â are in serious condition, authorities added.

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian-annexed city of Sevastopol, Crimea, killed another person and injured three â â others, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city's Moscow-appointed governor, said.

Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other in recent months, increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure, such as logistics warehouses and oil and port facilities, causing civilian casualties to rise.