The death toll from a Russian strike in Ukraine’s Kyiv region has risen to 38, making it the deadliest Russian attack in the area so far this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday. Four people remain missing as emergency crews continue search and recovery operations.
The attack occurred late Friday when a strike hit an ammunition storage facility in the village of Myla, west of Kyiv. Ukrainian officials said the facility contained artillery shells, mines, drones and other ammunition. The resulting explosions and fires spread to nearby homes and buildings, causing extensive destruction.
Zelenskyy said 20 people were injured, including two children. Emergency workers have continued extinguishing fires, clearing debris and identifying and neutralizing unexploded devices at the site, where the level of contamination remains significant.
The Ukrainian president has described the incident as a consequence of alleged negligence in storing explosives close to residential areas and said an investigation is underway to establish how the ammunition was stored at the facility.
The attack came as Russia intensified its aerial campaign against Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Russian forces launched nearly 2,000 strike drones, more than 1,600 aerial bombs and 31 missiles over the previous week, including ballistic missiles that Ukraine says were supplied by North Korea.
Russia, meanwhile, has warned that it is preparing further large-scale strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, describing them as a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian fuel, energy and industrial facilities.
Ukrainian drone attacks have increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure, contributing to disruptions in Russia’s fuel supply. Moscow has vowed what it calls an appropriate response to Kyiv’s campaign.
The latest escalation has renewed concerns about the impact of continued long-range attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure as Ukraine approaches another winter under wartime conditions.
For families of the four people still missing, the search in Myla continues as emergency teams work through the aftermath of one of the year’s most devastating attacks in the Kyiv region.
Swifteradio.com
