Ukraine launches investigation after Russian strike on depot near homes triggers explosions, kills 27

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday the country’s authorities had opened an investigation and were looking into possible official “negligence” after a Russian drone strike on a warehouse near Kyiv triggered a large detonation and killed at least 27 people.

“There are regulations in place – ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Saturday morning. The president did not explicitly say what had caused the detonation or what the warehouse was storing when it was attacked.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration, said that at least 50 residential buildings had been damaged in the attack, which also sparked a large-scale fire that spread to homes and a restaurant.

Among the dead, President Zelenskyy said, was the head of the Dmytrivka community Taras Didych who had been working to rescue people.

“Appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn,” Zelenskyy added.

The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said a drone “fell on or struck the grounds of an enterprise in the town of Myla.” 

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

The prosecutor’s office specified 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 company, which was not named, had the “necessary permits and approvals.”

Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed regret that a “lesson” had not been learned after a previous deadly attack in July in Vyshneve, near Kyiv, on a munitions depot.

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