37 killed in explosion caused by Russian strike on warehouse in Kyiv region
Officials said on Saturday that at least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone strike on a warehouse in Kyiv caused an explosion, as Russian air attacks on the Ukrainian capital and its surrounding region entered their third consecutive day.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to punish those responsible for the warehouse explosion, which occurred late Friday and resulted in one of the highest death tolls in months, appearing to be the second incident of its kind within two months.
Zelenskyy said dozens of people were injured and that more than 370 people were evacuated from the attack area in the village of Bila Tserkva.
He added that nearby infrastructure suffered “severe damage,” including residential buildings and a nursing home.
Writing on the X platform, Zelenskyy stated, “Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions.”
He added, “There are existing regulations, and ammunition must not be stored near homes or other residential areas. Appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn.”
Russia has escalated its air war against Ukraine by deploying more ballistic missiles and hard-to-intercept jet-powered drones.
* Drone swarms target Kyiv
Zelenskyy said nine other regions were attacked by Russia during the night, stating that Kyiv, in particular, was facing “almost continuous” attacks by high-speed drones.
Air raid sirens sounded throughout the morning for the third consecutive day, after the Ukrainian Air Force warned of new waves of drones approaching the capital.
The sound of air defense systems could be heard in the sky.
Kyiv region governor Tymur Tkachenko said a 14-year-old girl was killed in a morning drone strike on the Borispol area. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Saturday that a two-year-old child was killed in Kyiv by a downed drone.
Strikes targeting Kyiv and its surroundings on Thursday and Friday damaged warehouses and homes, in what some Ukrainian officials described as a campaign aimed at “crippling” a city with several million residents.
* Second explosion from a strike within two months
Friday’s explosion followed a similar incident last month in the town of Vishneve in the Kyiv region, where 10 people were killed and hundreds of homes damaged after a strike triggered secondary explosions.
Prime Minister Serhiy Kmysh, who visited the site of yesterday’s explosion, wrote on Telegram, “In the fifth year of the full-scale war, we have no right to allow tragedies like those in Vishneve and in the Bucha area to be repeated.”
Zelenskyy said criminal cases have already been opened on charges of official negligence. Ukrainian officials rarely disclose the damage inflicted on military targets by Russian attacks.
