Russian attack on warehouse near Ukraine’s Kyiv kills at least 27

At least 27 people have been killed after an overnight Russian attack on a warehouse in the Bucha district, outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, officials said.

“Unfortunately, as things stand, 27 people are known to have died. And this figure may not be final,” Kyiv regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said on Saturday. Among the dead was Taras Didych, mayor of the village of Dmytrivska, Tkachenko said.

A Russian drone struck a warehouse near Kyiv’s western suburbs storing munitions, sparking huge explosions, authorities said on Saturday.

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

The warehouse appeared to have been storing “explosive objects”, according to Ukrainian prosecutors, who said they are opening an investigation into criminal negligence. 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 responsible, which was not named, had the “necessary permits and approvals”.

In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a warehouse had been struck in the village of Myla “followed by a detonation”. He did not give details about the site, but confirmed that criminal proceedings would follow. “There are regulations in place – ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas,” Zelenskyy said.

Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other in recent months, sparking fires and causing civilian casualties to soar.

Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Kyiv’s regional governor said that 42 people ⁠were injured and that ⁠more than ⁠380 others were ⁠being evacuated from the strike area ‌in the Bucha district.