Russian strike on Kyiv has killed 38 people after an attack on an ammunition depot in Myla, west of the Ukrainian capital, caused a series of explosions late Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that rescue workers were still searching for four people who remained missing. Emergency crews were also dealing with damaged buildings, fires and possible explosive contamination at the site.
The strike hit a military facility in Myla, in the Kyiv region. The initial attack was followed by several explosions after stored ammunition caught fire and detonated.
The depot contained artillery shells, mines, drones and other military equipment. The explosions continued for some time, making rescue work more difficult.
Zelenskyy said most of the fires had been put out, but emergency workers were still clearing debris and dealing with dangerous material at the site.
The attack was reported by Reuters as the deadliest Russian strike in the Kyiv region this year.
The explosion did not remain limited to the military facility.
Dozens of people were injured, while hundreds of residents were evacuated from nearby areas. At least 50 residential buildings were damaged, along with a care facility for elderly people and people with disabilities.
Kyiv region governor Tymur Tkachenko said 42 people were injured, including four children.
The scale of the damage has raised questions about how such a large amount of ammunition was being stored so close to civilian communities.
Ukrainian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the storage of the explosives.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian regulations do not allow ammunition to be stored near homes or other residential buildings. He called the situation “terrible negligence” and said officials responsible for the storage arrangements could face criminal proceedings.
The investigation is therefore looking beyond the Russian strike itself. Authorities are also examining whether failures in the handling and storage of ammunition contributed to the deaths and destruction.
The location of the depot is a major part of the investigation. A military facility containing large quantities of ammunition can create serious risks when it is close to populated areas.
The latest incident is also not the first case to raise concerns.
In July, another explosion occurred at an ammunition site in Vyshneve, near Kyiv. Ukrainian officials said that incident had already raised concerns about the storage of explosives close to residential areas.
Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said authorities had failed to act on the lessons from the earlier incident.
He argued that repeating the same mistakes during the fifth year of the full-scale war amounted to criminal negligence.
One of the people killed was Taras Didych, head of the Dmytrivka community.
According to Zelenskyy, Didych died while helping other people after the attack.
His death has added a local dimension to an incident that has affected several communities around Kyiv. The attack has left families dealing with deaths and injuries while authorities investigate both the Russian strike and the conditions at the ammunition site.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces targeted a depot in Myla that stored components and launch boosters for Ukrainian long-range drones.
The attack was part of a wider Russian air campaign against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said Russia launched nearly 2,000 attack drones, more than 1,600 aerial bombs and 31 missiles against Ukraine during the previous week.
Other Russian attacks on Saturday also killed civilians in Kyiv and the Boryspil district, according to Ukrainian officials.
The attack shows the danger faced by communities around Kyiv, where military facilities and civilian areas exist within a wider war zone.
But the ammunition depot incident also raises a separate question for Ukrainian authorities: how military supplies are stored and how much protection is provided to nearby residents.
The Russian strike caused the immediate destruction, but the investigation into the depot’s location and storage practices could determine whether additional failures contributed to the loss of life.
For the families of those killed, that question is not simply administrative. It could become an important part of determining responsibility for what happened.
