A devastating Russian drone strike in the Kyiv region has left 37 people dead and sparked a major criminal investigation. The late-Friday attack targeted a warehouse in the village of Myla, located in the Bucha district, triggering a massive explosion that tore through residential areas and a nearby care home.
As search and rescue teams sift through the rubble, the tragedy has quickly evolved from a wartime strike into a high-stakes scandal over potential military negligence.
What Happened in Bucha?
The strike caused widespread destruction in a residential pocket of the Kyiv region. Along with the 37 confirmed fatalities, at least 42 people—including four children—were injured. Emergency responders evacuated nearly 400 residents from the area, which included a care home for the elderly and people with disabilities.
The civilian death toll rose further overnight, with separate drone attacks killing a 14-year-old in the Boryspil district and a two-year-old in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district. Ukrainian air defenses reported shooting down 233 Russian drones during the intense overnight barrage.
The Ammunition Controversy
The sheer scale of the warehouse blast has raised serious questions within Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a criminal negligence investigation has been opened by the prosecutor general’s office to determine if military ammunition was illegally stored on-site.
"The regulations are clear: Ammunition must not be stored near houses or other residential buildings," Zelensky wrote on X. "Appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn."
The prosecutor's office is currently reviewing the legality of storing explosive materials so close to civilians. Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed responsibility for the strike, asserting that the facility was an active military depot housing components and launch boosters for long-range drones.
A Two-Way Drone War
As Russia targets Kyiv, Ukraine has escalated its own drone campaign, increasingly focusing on Russian economic targets.
Over the same 24-hour period, Ukrainian drones struck logistics hubs deep inside Russian territory. Russian online retailer Ozon reported that one of its distribution centers was hit, forcing the evacuation and suspension of operations at multiple facilities. Kyiv has also frequently targeted Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, under the claim that these commercial logistics networks are being utilized to supply the Russian military.
