Russian Strike on Ukraine Ammo Depot Kills at Least 37

A Russian drone attack on an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region caused an explosion on Friday evening that killed at least 37 people and injured dozens more, Ukrainian officials said, in the second such incident in two months.

One of the deadliest Russian attacks of this year comes as Russia steps up its airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, taking advantage of gaps in ballistic-missiles defenses and sending more jet-powered drones to evade interceptors.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the ammunition depot destroyed on Friday contained artillery shells and drones—and under Ukrainian law shouldn’t have been located in a populated area.

The attack follows another Russian strike in July on an ammunition depot belonging to an arms manufacturer in Vyshneve, also in the Kyiv region, which killed 10 people.

“A terrible situation and terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people,” Zelensky wrote on X, adding that an investigation into Friday’s incident was under way. “Another such crime—after what happened in Vyshneve—is absolutely unacceptable.”

By Saturday, nearly 400 people had been evacuated from the suburb, where the explosion damaged 130 homes. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Serhii Koretskiy visited the area as rescuers continued to put out fires and searched through rubble. Four people remained missing.

Russia began an extended air attack on Kyiv on Thursday with missile strikes and waves of jet-powered drones, and has continued to attack the capital for several days, giving the city’s residents no respite. The attacks have caused delays to train services around the country and traffic jams in Kyiv as the citizens have had to flee to shelters throughout the day.