Deadly Russian Drone Strike on Munitions Warehouse Near Kyiv Kills At Least 27

A devastating overnight Russian drone attack on a warehouse in the Bucha district outside Kyiv has left at least 27 people dead, according to local officials. Kyiv regional governor Tymur Tkachenko confirmed the death toll on Saturday morning, warning that the final number of casualties may still rise. Among those killed was Taras Didych, mayor of the village of Dmytrivska.

The strike hit a facility in the village of Myla that was storing munitions, triggering massive explosions and a large-scale fire that quickly spread to surrounding residential buildings and a restaurant. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration, reported that at least 50 residential homes suffered damage in the onslaught.

Ukrainian prosecutors announced they have launched a criminal negligence investigation into the incident. The probe will examine the legality of storing explosive objects on the enterprise's grounds and determine whether the responsible company held the necessary permits and approvals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the disaster in a statement, emphasizing that regulations strictly prohibit storing ammunition near homes and residential areas, and confirmed that legal proceedings are underway.

Governor Tkachenko stated on the Telegram messaging app that 42 people sustained injuries in the strike, while more than 380 residents were evacuated from the affected zone in the Bucha district. Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi voiced sharp criticism, noting that authorities failed to learn critical lessons from a similar deadly explosion at a munitions depot in Vyshneve last July. Pointing to past investigative findings of regulatory non-compliance by a state-owned company, Koretskyi insisted that all responsible parties must face severe punishment.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched at least two missiles and 267 drones across Ukraine between late Friday and early Saturday. Additional early-morning strikes claimed the lives of one person in the southern Odesa region and a 14-year-old girl in the Kyiv suburb of Boryspil. Meanwhile, cross-border retaliation continued as local authorities in Russia reported that a Ukrainian drone attack in the Belgorod region killed three people and wounded nine others, while another person was killed and three were injured in Russian-annexed Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, as confirmed by Mikhail Razvozhayev.