A Friday night Russian strike on a warehouse storing ammunition west of Kyiv has killed at least 38 people, according to Ukrainian officials, as Moscow continues its heavy bombardments across Ukraine, which it frames as a response to Ukraine’s escalated drone attacks on Russian territory.
The Associated Press reported that the ammunition stored at the warehouse targeted by Russian forces sparked massive explosions and fires that spread through dozens of nearby homes and other buildings in the village of Myla. At least 52 other people were injured in the carnage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the massive casualties were the result of “terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people” and said there would be an investigation into why ammunition was stored at the warehouse.
“The first strike was on an ammunition storage site that definitely shouldn’t have been there – a Defense Forces storage facility. Shells, mines, other ammunition, and drones detonated. The scale is significant,” Zelensky said in his nightly address on Saturday.
“We have already spoken with the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Commander-in-Chief – they have everything necessary for the investigation,” the Ukrainian president added.
The strike has been reported as the deadliest Russian attack in Ukraine this year, though the casualties among Ukrainian soldiers along the frontline are never disclosed, and heavy fighting on the front continues. While Ukraine has dramatically ramped up its drone attacks inside Russia this year, Russian forces still have the momentum on the battlefield and continue to slowly make gains.
