At least 27 people were killed in Ukraine following a Russian attack Friday night on the Bucha district near Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a warehouse in the village of Mila was hit and “then an explosion occurred.”
He did not provide further details about the site, although earlier reports said it was an explosives depot, but said criminal proceedings had been opened on suspicion of negligence by officials.
(Photo: Alina Smutko/Reuters)
(Photo: Alina Smutko/Reuters)
“There are regulations on this — ammunition must not be stored near homes or other residential areas,” Zelensky said, adding that nursing homes, a facility for the elderly and people with disabilities and residential buildings were damaged.
“More than 370 people have already been evacuated, and the evacuation is continuing,” he said. Zelensky also vowed that those responsible for the secondary explosion triggered by the Russian attack would be punished.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration, said 42 people were wounded and at least 50 residential buildings were damaged in the attack, which also sparked a fire that spread to homes and a restaurant.
The nearly nonstop air attacks on Kyiv have now entered a third consecutive day. They are paralyzing parts of the Ukrainian capital’s economy and disrupting civilian life more than four and a half years after Russia launched its invasion.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities said Saturday that three people were killed and nine others wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Belgorod region. Local Russian officials said three of the wounded were in serious condition.
Separately, one person was reported killed and three others wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Sevastopol in the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
(Photo: Serhii Okunev / AFP)
(Photo: Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)
Russia and Ukraine have stepped up long-range attacks in recent months, causing fires and contributing to record numbers of civilian casualties.
Agence France-Presse reporters said they saw a huge column of black smoke rising over Kyiv’s western suburbs. Friday night’s attack came after “two days of frequent waves of drones targeting the city and the surrounding region, damaging warehouses and homes and disrupting daily life,” Tkachenko said Saturday.
“Since last evening, efforts have been underway in the village of Myla near Kyiv to deal with the aftermath of a Russian drone strike,” Zelensky said Saturday afternoon. “A warehouse was hit, and then there was an explosion. One of those killed was the head of the Dmytrivka community, who was involved in rescuing people. Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions.”