At least 37 dead and hundreds evacuated after strike on Kyiv weapons depot

ByDan Johnson, Reporting fromMyla and Rorey Bosotti.

Key points

• As the Ukrainian army stated it had shot down 233 Russian drones, zelensky documented further overnight strikes in Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.
• "Everything is completely damaged, " local resident Liubov Pavlenko, 45, informed the BBC while inspecting her home around 200m from the ammunition warehouse.
• "The authorities, the Ministry of Defence – why was this allowed at the depots, in a place where there used to be food?" Borys Daniyluk, 61, remarked.
• In Russia, local authorities stated two individuals had been killed and 25 injured in strikes in the Belgorod and Rostov regions previously 24 hours.
• Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed regret that a "lesson" had not been learned after the explosion in Vyshneve.

Thirty-seven individuals have died and almost 400 have been evacuated after a Russian drone strike hit a depot storing weapons for Ukraine's military near a residential area on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Meanwhile, the strike caused shells, mines and drones to detonate late on Friday, triggering a blast that damaged nearby properties including a care home for the elderly and disabled, President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked.

He remarked the storage site "definitely shouldn't have been there" and that an investigation had been rolled out into "terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosive right next to people".

For context, the attack is the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in recent months, prompting renewed anger.

Four children are among the 42 individuals injured in Friday night's explosion, according to regional head Tymur Tkachenko, with a rescue operation ongoing at the site, in the Bucha district, on Saturday.

Russia's Ministry of Defence remarked in an official note that its forces had targeted "an ammunition depot" in Myla, a village to the west of the Ukrainian capital, holding "components and launch boosters for FP-1/FP-2 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles". The explosion damaged regarding 130 homes in the village.

"There are cracks all around the entire perimeter, and cracks around the windows. Basically, the structural integrity has been compromised, " she continued.

"I'm still kind of numb. I don't know. Once I come around a little tomorrow, I'll probably have an even bigger breakdown."

Zelensky remarked the decision to store explosives in the village was "absolutely unacceptable", adding: "Criminal proceedings have been opened on charges of official negligence."

Meanwhile, the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general earlier remarked it was reviewing the "legality of the placement and storage of explosive objects and materials" near residential buildings in Myla.

It remarked the "actions of officials who made the relevant decisions" would additionally be investigated.

Nevertheless, Zelensky earlier stated that "there are regulations in place – ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas", adding "appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn".

He referenced the strike on an ammunition warehouse in Vyshneve in July. It caused a secondary detonation that killed nine, injured dozens more and damaged more than 280 homes.

Friday night's explosion has raised fresh questions regarding why munitions were being stored so close to people's homes, especially given the regularity of Russian aerial attacks.

"Why were ammunition and weapons stored there, next to a populated village? There are no words, just emotions."

For context, the investigation into that incident made public serious failings on the part of a state-owned business that had not complied with regulations regarding storage of explosives near residential buildings.

Zelensky indicated that the Myla depot had been operated by Ukraine's armed forces.

"In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over is criminal negligence, " Koretsky remarked on Telegram.

"Everyone responsible, without exception, must face severe punishment so that such situations never happen again."

While Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko stated a two-year-old had died after a Russian drone crashed in Obolonskyi, meanwhile, Tkachenko remarked a 14-year-old was killed in a separate attack in the Boryspil district.

He continued that five residents, including an 18-year-old girl, were injured in fresh strikes on the capital on Saturday morning. Five individuals have been killed nationwide over the past day, according to local office-holders.

Russia and Ukraine have been intensifying their aerial attacks in recent months, with Kyiv focusing its operations on Russian economic targets.

Ukraine has for weeks struck sites belonging to Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, describing the firm as a legitimate target since it supplied components to the military. It moscow denies.

Notably, the Moscow-appointed governor of the occupied Ukrainian region of Zaphorizhzhia remarked four residents were injured after a Ukrainian strike hit a shopping centre.

Russian online retailer Ozon remarked one of its logistic centres had been hit in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike. It remarked it had additionally suspended operations at a second logistics centre and evacuate staff "due to the danger in the area".

Meanwhile, the retailer's facilities in Krasnodar, Dagestan, Stavropol and Adygea were targeted in strikes earlier this week, resulting in a number of injuries and widespread damage.

In short, at least 37 dead and hundreds evacuated after strike on Kyiv weapons is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.