KYIV, Ukraine: A Russian drone strike sparked a fire and a series of explosions at a warehouse near Kyiv late Friday, sending more than 200 people, including children, from the area and leaving at least six people wounded.
The attack occurred shortly after 8 p.m. in Myla, a village in the Bucha district on the outskirts of the Bucha districtcapital, authorities said. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said the blaze was accompanied by explosions as emergency crews worked at the site.
“More than 200 people have already been evacuated from the scene, including children,” Tkachenko said on Telegram.
Ukrainian prosecutors opened an investigation into the storage of explosive materials at the facility. They said investigators would determine whether the unidentified company had the necessary permits and approvals and whether it followed regulations governing the storage of such materials.
The incident comes amid an intensification of long-range attacks by Russia and Ukraine, with strikes increasingly hitting infrastructure away from the front line, including logistics warehouses, oil facilities and ports. Civilian casualties have continued to rise as the attacks expand in scale and reach.
Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky also linked the incident to a deadly July attack on a munitions depot in Vyshneve, near Kyiv. An investigation into that case found that a state-owned company had failed to meet safety requirements despite the depot being close to residential buildings.
“In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence,” Koretsky said.
He called for those responsible to face severe punishment and urged authorities to prevent similar failures in the future.
The investigation into Friday’s incident will focus on whether violations at the warehouse contributed to the danger posed by the Russian strike.
