Russia strikes arms depot, killing 37

BLAST: ‘ In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence,’ an official said of arms being stored near homes

Russia struck an arms depot near Kyiv overnight, sparking fires and explosions that killed 37 people and wounded dozens of others, authorities said on Saturday.

Plumes of black smoke were seen pouring over the capital’s western suburbs, while videos published by Ukrainian rescue services showed homes near the blast epicenter in flames.

The attack was the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in less than two months, with officials expressing anger that arms were still being stored so close to residential areas.

Smoke rises after a Russian air attack near Kyiv on Saturday amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Photo: AFP

Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other in the past few months, pushing civilian casualties to their highest level since Moscow invaded in 2022.

“Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions... Ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on social media.

The blast forced hundreds to evacuate and damaged multiple homes, including a care facility for older and disabled people, he added.

At least 37 people were killed, among them the mayor of the nearby town of Dmytrivka, Kyiv region governor Tymur Tkachenko said on social media.

Residents in the area said the explosion was “terrifying.”

“We thought we were being bombed. No one knew it was a detonation,” said Yana Doneli, resident of a nearby town.

The depot was owned by the Ukrainian military and stored drones, shells and other munitions, Zelenskiy said in a video address.

He blamed the incident on “horrific negligence,” saying ammunition should not have been stored there.

Ukrainian prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into criminal negligence.

“On 28 August at around 8:10pm, an unmanned aerial vehicle ... fell on or struck the grounds of an enterprise in the town of Myla,” the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said.

Myla is a small town on the outskirts of western Kyiv.

“A large-scale fire broke out on the enterprise’s grounds, and detonation began,” prosecutors added.

The prosecutor’s office said that its investigation would focus on “the legality of the ... storage of explosive objects and materials on the enterprise’s grounds,” as well as whether the owner, whom it did not name, had the “necessary permits and approvals.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed regret that a “lesson” had not been learned following a previous deadly strike on a munitions depot near Kyiv last month.

That investigation revealed serious failings on the part of a state-owned company, which did not comply with regulations regarding the proximity of residential buildings.

“In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence,” Koretsky said on social media. “Everyone responsible, without exception, must face severe punishment so that such situations never happen again.”

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

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

In Russia, Ukrainian strikes killed three people in the Belgorod region and caused a fire at a warehouse belonging to Russian retailer Ozon, officials said.

A strike on the city of Sevastopol in Crimea killed one person, Sevastopol’s Russian-installed governor said.

US-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, Europe’s deadliest since World War II, have been at a standstill for months.

Russia has demanded sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine, which Kyiv has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.

Last week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on an unannounced trip, amid escalating tensions in the four-and-a-half-year war.