A large Russian attack with hundreds of drones and missiles shook several regions of the country between Friday and Saturday, including Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. There, so far, the death toll around a military depot amounts to 27, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. These fatalities occurred in a drone bombing over the Bucha district, a place of infamous memory and a symbol of the barbarity of this war where around 400 civilians were killed during the month-long Russian occupation in 2022.
Read more Iceland votes in a referendum on whether to reopen negotiations for European Union membership
Additionally, the death of a two-year-old girl after a drone hit a café in the capital at midday on Saturday must be added, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Zelensky himself has reported the opening of an investigation after the attack in Bucha due to possible negligence in locating a weapons depot near residential areas, which, according to his explanation, could have caused the high number of deaths. Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi even speaks of “criminal negligence.” The first images that appeared on social media at dusk on Friday already indicated a possible attack on facilities with ammunition or weapons due to the successive explosions taking place.
Among the more than 40 injured of varying severity are four children, although authorities acknowledge that the victim count is not final. The impact caused damage to around fifty buildings.
Local authorities have reported that their air defenses managed to shoot down a significant portion of the weapons used, but even so, they could not prevent one of the deadliest offensives since the Kremlin unleashed the large invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022.
Russia, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, has launched 267 drones, an Oniks anti-ship missile, and an Iskander-M ballistic missile, whose trajectory is very difficult to intercept with the weapons Ukraine has. It also reported that they have managed to shoot down or neutralize a total of 233 drones of the Shahed, Gerbera, and other types in different regions of the country.
The main place attacked is located in the village of Myla, about ten kilometers west of Kiev. The drone impact late on Friday caused a large fire and several explosions as well as fatalities and forced the evacuation of nearly 400 people. Due to the severity of the events and to facilitate the work of emergency workers, the road from Kiev to the western city of Chop has been closed since late Friday.
Read more Trump announces a deal with Venezuela to take control of part of its oil reserves
It is in that metropolitan belt of the capital where, in 2022, the Russian troops who were going to overthrow President Zelensky were stopped in a battle with the local army that ended up marking the course of the great invasion orchestrated by President Vladimir Putin, who tried to take the center of power to seize all of Ukraine.
The president explained in a statement that about 300 employees from different security and emergency bodies have been dispatched to the site. He points out that after an initial impact on a warehouse, there was a new detonation, implying that an ammunition or weapons depot had been hit.
In fact, according to Zelensky, one of the local authorities who arrived first and was carrying out rescues is among the fatalities. Significant damage has occurred to residential buildings, a nursing home, and disabled persons, according to the president’s testimony.
Zelensky immediately referred to the controversy over the probably attacked arsenal and stated that “ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas.” “Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions. Investigators from the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine are conducting a pre-trial investigation, and criminal proceedings have been initiated on charges of official negligence,” he added in his statement.
The Kiev region suffered a similar incident on June 6. A Russian attack on Vyshneve caused the death of nine people. “Unfortunately, it is clear that the terrible tragedy of Vyshneve has not served as a lesson. In the fifth year of a large-scale invasion, making the same mistakes over and over again constitutes criminal negligence. And all those responsible, without exception, must face severe punishment,” Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi warned on his social media.
In addition to Kiev, in recent hours the regions of Odesa, Dnipro, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kherson, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, and Chernihiv have been hit by the Russians. “Ukraine cannot be left alone to find solutions to defend itself against such attacks, and I thank everyone who is helping with additional support packages and sanction steps against Russia,” Zelensky commented.
