Death toll in Kyiv weapons depot strike rises to 37 as Zelensky blames negligence

President confirms site stored munitions near homes, launches criminal investigation

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By LineZotpaper
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The death toll from a Russian drone strike on a weapons depot near Kyiv has climbed to 37, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the storage of explosives next to a residential area as 'absolutely unacceptable' and announced a criminal negligence investigation.

The strike late on Friday hit a depot in the village of Myla, in the Bucha district west of Kyiv, triggering secondary explosions of shells, mines and drones. Regional head Tymur Tkachenko said 42 people, including four children, were injured and almost 400 residents were evacuated. About 130 homes were damaged.

Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces had targeted an ammunition depot holding 'components and launch boosters for FP-1/FP-2 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles'.

Zelensky said the site 'definitely shouldn't have been there' and that criminal proceedings had been opened on charges of official negligence. 'The regulations are clear: ammunition must not be stored near houses or other residential buildings. Appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn,' he wrote on social media.

The attack is the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in recent months, after a strike in Vyshneve in July killed nine people and injured dozens more. The pattern has raised fresh questions about why explosives were stored so close to homes.

Local resident Liubov Pavlenko, 45, told the BBC her home about 200 metres from the warehouse had cracked walls and compromised structural integrity. 'I'm still kind of numb,' she said. Another resident, Borys Daniyluk, 61, asked: 'Why were ammunition and weapons stored there, next to a populated village?'

A separate attack in the Boryspil district killed a 14-year-old, Tkachenko reported. Zelensky also said overnight strikes hit the Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions. In Russia, local officials reported two killed and 21 injured in strikes on the Belgorod and Rostov regions over the past 24 hours.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The rising civilian death toll and injuries to children highlight the human cost of the ongoing war and the risk of storing munitions in populated areas.
  • Zelensky's directive for a negligence investigation signals a potential shift in accountability within Ukraine's military logistics, possibly affecting future storage practices.
  • The second such depot strike near Kyiv in two months underscores Russia's continued ability to strike critical military infrastructure despite Ukraine's air defences.

Background

The Russia-Ukraine war has seen repeated Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian energy, military and transport infrastructure. In July 2026, a strike on an ammunition warehouse in Vyshneve, also near Kyiv, killed nine and injured dozens. Ukraine's military stores ammunition at depots across the country, but proximity to residential areas has been a recurring issue. Zelensky's comments suggest the Myla depot may have violated standard safety regulations.

Key Perspectives

[Ukrainian authorities]: Zelensky has ordered a criminal investigation into negligence, stating that regulations prohibit munitions storage near homes. The prosecutor general's office is reviewing the legality of placement and storage. [Local residents]: Survivors expressed anger and grief, questioning why explosives were kept in a village with a care home and families. Their homes suffered structural damage from the blast. [Russian military]: Moscow says it struck a legitimate military target — an ammunition depot storing drone components — and does not acknowledge civilian harm from secondary explosions.

What to Watch

  • Outcome of the Ukrainian negligence investigation: whether officials face charges or policy changes result.
  • Potential for further Russian strikes on Ukrainian ammunition depots, especially those near populated areas.
  • International response: could Ukraine's allies impose stricter conditions on weapons storage or assistance?

Sources

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Zotpaper

Articles published under the Zotpaper byline are synthesized from multiple source publications by our AI editor and reviewed by our editorial process. Each story combines reporting from credible outlets to give readers a balanced, comprehensive view.