Watch: Devastating scenes near Kyiv after Russian strikes hit arms depot, killing 37 people

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Author: AFP,
Publish Date: Sun, 30 Aug 2026, 8:19am

Russia struck an arms depot near Kyiv overnight, sparking fires and explosions that killed 37 people and wounded dozens of others, authorities said on Saturday.

Plumes of black smoke loomed over the capital’s western suburbs, while Ukraine’s rescue services reported homes near the blast epicentre in flames.

The attack was the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in less than two months, with officials expressing anger that arms were still being stored so close to residential areas.

Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other in recent months, pushing civilian casualties to their highest level since Moscow invaded in 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X: “Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions... ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas.”

The blast forced hundreds to evacuate and damaged multiple homes, including a care facility for elderly and disabled people, he added.

At least 37 people were killed, among them the mayor of the nearby town of Dmytrivka.

Residents in the area told AFP the explosion was “terrifying”.

Yana Doneli, resident of a nearby town, said: “We thought we were being bombed. No one knew it was a detonation.”

The depot was owned by the Ukrainian military and stored drones, shells and other munitions, Zelenskyy said in a video address.

He blamed the incident on “horrific negligence”, saying ammunition should not have been stored there.

Ukrainian prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into criminal negligence.

The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said: “On 28 August around 8.10pm an unmanned aerial vehicle... fell on or struck the grounds of an enterprise in the town of Myla.

“A large-scale fire broke out on the enterprise’s grounds, and detonation began.”

The prosecutor’s office said that its investigation would focus on “the legality of the... storage of explosive objects and materials on the enterprise’s grounds.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed regret that a “lesson” had not been learned following a previous deadly strike on a munitions depot near Kyiv in July.

That investigation revealed serious failings on the part of a state-owned company, which did not comply with regulations regarding the proximity of residential buildings.

The hit on the weapons depot led to majore explosions and secondary fires that damaged a large residential area. Photo / Getty Images

Russia launched at least two missiles and 267 drones at Ukraine between late on Friday and early Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force.

In addition to the depot strike, Russian attacks on Ukraine killed three people on Saturday, including a two-year-old infant in Kyiv and a 14-year-old girl in the capital’s outer suburbs, officials said.

In Russia, Ukrainian strikes killed three people in the Belgorod region and caused a fire at a warehouse belonging to Russian retailer Ozon, officials said.

A strike on the city of Sevastopol in Crimea killed one person, according to Sevastopol’s Russian-installed governor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered an investigation into why the weapons cache was so close to residential buildings. Photo / Getty Images

US-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, Europe’s deadliest since World War II, have been at a standstill for months.

Russia has demanded sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine, which Kyiv has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.

Earlier this week, US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow on an unannounced trip, amid escalating tensions in the four-and-a-half-year war.

- AFP