KYIV, Ukraine – At least 37 people were killed and 42 injured, including four children, after a Russian drone struck a warehouse in Myla, a village in the Bucha district west of Kyiv, triggering a series of explosions and fires that spread into surrounding residential areas. Ukrainian officials said more than 370 people were evacuated.
The attack, which occurred Friday night, has become the deadliest Russian attack in Ukraine so far this year, surpassing a July 2 strike on Kyiv that killed 31 people.
The immediate cause of the large secondary explosions appears to have been ammunition stored at the facility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the site contained shells, mines, other ammunition and drones and should not have been located so close to civilian homes.
Warehouse strike triggered secondary explosions
Ukrainian authorities said the initial Russian drone strike hit the warehouse in Myla, after which ammunition inside the facility detonated.
The resulting explosions sent fire through nearby areas and damaged at least 50 residential buildings, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration. A care facility for elderly people and people with disabilities was among the affected sites.
Local officials said 34 of those killed were residents of the care facility, although the circumstances surrounding each death were still being documented.
The blast also disrupted transportation, with authorities closing sections of the highway near the affected area as emergency crews worked to contain the fires and evacuate residents.
Ukraine opens investigation into ammunition storage
The deadly strike has prompted not only an investigation into the Russian attack but also a separate examination of how Ukrainian military ammunition came to be stored near residential areas.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian law prohibits storing ammunition close to homes and other civilian areas. He called the situation a serious failure and said those responsible for allowing the storage arrangement would have to answer for their decisions.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office opened a pretrial investigation into possible negligence.
Investigators are examining the legality of storing explosive materials at the site, whether the necessary permits and approvals existed and whether officials followed regulations governing the location of military facilities.
The investigation is important because the death toll resulted not only from the initial Russian strike but also from the subsequent detonation of ammunition.
Russia says it targeted military equipment
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it carried out strikes in the area but described the target differently.
Russian officials said the strike hit a warehouse containing components and launch boosters for long-range drones. Moscow also said it attacked ports in Mykolaiv and Izmail and other logistics and weapons-related facilities in the Kyiv region.
The competing descriptions underline an important distinction in the incident.
Ukraine has acknowledged that the warehouse was connected to its military and that ammunition was stored there. Ukrainian authorities are simultaneously investigating whether that storage violated safety requirements because of its proximity to civilian areas.
Nearby homes caught fire
The secondary explosions dramatically expanded the impact of the strike.
Fire spread from the warehouse toward nearby residential buildings, damaging dozens of homes and other structures.
Emergency crews worked through the night and into Saturday to extinguish fires, search damaged buildings and evacuate residents.
The scale of the blast also complicated the rescue operation because unexploded ammunition and continuing detonations created additional dangers for emergency workers.
More than 370 people were evacuated from the affected area, according to Ukrainian officials.
Community leader among those killed
Among those killed was Taras Didych, head of the Dmytrivka community.
According to Ukrainian officials, Didych went to the scene after the attack to help residents and rescue people. He was killed during the response.
His death added to the impact on local authorities already dealing with evacuations, damaged homes and emergency operations.
Attack comes after days of Russian strikes
The warehouse strike occurred during a broader period of intense Russian aerial attacks against Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine.
Russian forces have conducted near-continuous drone and missile attacks around the capital since Thursday, placing additional pressure on Ukraine’s air-defense systems and emergency services.
Ukrainian officials say Russia has increasingly relied on large numbers of drones and missiles in an effort to overwhelm the country’s air defenses.
The latest campaign has also involved jet-powered drones, which Ukrainian authorities say present additional challenges for interception.
Similar warehouse incident occurred in July
The Myla explosion has raised particular concern because it resembles another deadly incident involving an ammunition storage facility near Kyiv.
In July, a strike on a warehouse in Vyshneve, west of the capital, triggered secondary explosions and fires that killed people and damaged nearby homes. Ukrainian officials subsequently identified problems with the storage of weapons near residential buildings.
Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said the earlier tragedy should have led to changes and criticized officials for failing to prevent another similar incident.
The repetition has increased pressure on Ukrainian authorities to determine whether military facilities are being placed and operated in accordance with wartime safety requirements.
The attack highlights the danger around military sites
The incident demonstrates the particular risks created when military facilities are located near populated areas during an active war.
A warehouse containing ammunition can become a much larger hazard if struck by an incoming weapon. Secondary explosions can extend destruction far beyond the original impact point and make rescue operations significantly more dangerous.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said it was gathering information about the incident and noted that international humanitarian law requires parties to take feasible precautions to protect civilians from the effects of attacks. It also noted that military objectives such as ammunition should not be located within or near densely populated areas.
The UN said it had not yet independently verified all details of the attack.
Civilian casualties continue to rise
The Myla attack comes amid a broader increase in civilian harm in Ukraine.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said July 2026 recorded more civilian deaths and injuries in Ukraine than any other month since March 2022, reflecting the intensification of long-range attacks.
The continuing attacks have affected residential areas, transportation infrastructure, energy facilities and other parts of civilian life.
For communities around Kyiv, the latest strikes have also brought repeated evacuations and prolonged disruption.
Russia and Ukraine continue long-range attacks
The latest Russian assault is part of an increasingly intense long-range war.
Russia has used drones and missiles to attack Ukrainian military, industrial, energy and logistics targets, while Ukraine has expanded its own drone campaign against Russian military and industrial infrastructure.
The exchange has increased pressure on both countries’ air defenses and has pushed the conflict deeper into the territory away from the conventional front lines.
The Myla strike demonstrates how military targets and civilian communities can become closely intertwined in this phase of the war.
Investigation now has two dimensions
The Ukrainian response will involve two separate questions.
The first is why the Russian strike occurred and what it targeted.
The second is why ammunition was stored at that location and whether Ukrainian officials violated safety regulations by allowing it to remain near homes.
The second investigation does not diminish the fact that Russia carried out the attack, but it is central to understanding why the strike produced such a high death toll.
Ukrainian authorities have promised accountability if negligence is established.
What Happens Next
Emergency crews are continuing recovery and damage-assessment operations around Myla. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the storage of explosive materials, while authorities are assessing the full extent of the damage and casualties.
The death toll could change as rescue workers complete searches of damaged structures.
The broader Russian aerial campaign against Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions also remains ongoing.
Key Facts
- Location: Myla, Bucha district, Kyiv region, Ukraine
- Attack: Russian drone strike
- Deaths: At least 37
- Injured: 42, including four children
- Evacuated: More than 370 people
- Buildings damaged: At least 50 residential buildings
- Military facility: Ammunition storage site
- Date of strike: August 28, 2026
- Deadliest Russian attack of 2026: Yes, according to current reports
- Ukrainian investigation: Possible negligence over ammunition storage
- Status: DEVELOPING
Reporting Credit: Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Kyiv Regional Military Administration; Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office; State Emergency Service of Ukraine; UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
