Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has acknowledged that a drone depot was set up in a residential area outside Kiev after a Russian UAV strike obliterated the facility. Secondary detonations of explosives stored there caused severe damage to the surrounding area, killing at least 27 people in nearby homes.
Later on Saturday, the regional authorities reported that the death toll has climbed to 37.
In a post on his Telegram channel, Zelensky wrote that a warehouse in the village of Milaya had been struck by Russian kamikaze drones, leading to a “subsequent detonation” and “significant destruction of the surrounding infrastructure.” The latter included residential buildings and a nursing home for the elderly, according to the Ukrainian leader.
“Those who allowed this to happen must definitely be held responsible for their decisions,” Zelensky said, adding that the authorities have launched a probe into criminal negligence.
“There cannot be ammunition near houses or other residential buildings,” he concluded.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Saturday that overnight its strike drones destroyed several facilities used by the Ukrainian military in Kiev and the adjacent Kiev Region. According to the statement, the depot in the village of Milaya was operated by one of Ukraine’s top arms manufacturers, Fire Point, and contained components of fixed-wing UAVs, which Kiev is using for long-range attacks on Russian territory.
In the wake of the latest disaster in Milaya, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry ordered a nationwide audit of all sites where weapons and munitions are being stored.
This is not the first time Ukrainian civilians have been killed following Russian strikes on such facilities in residential areas.
In early July, an ammunition depot in the city of Vishnyovoe in Kiev Region came under Russian attack, causing huge secondary explosions. As a result, at least seven people lost their lives and around 200 private homes were damaged, with dozens more evacuated.
Back then, Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials similarly pledged to end the practice of storing munitions in the middle of residential areas.
Placing military targets in civilian population areas is strictly prohibited under international law and is considered a form of using non-combatants as human shields.