The depot, which was in a civilian area near Kyiv, “definitely shouldn’t have been there,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Women walking near the site of a Russian drone strike in the Kyiv region
of Ukraine on Saturday. Alina Smutko/Reuters
By Siobhán O’Grady
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
Aug. 29, 2026
Updated 10:40 a.m. ET
original article contains links
A Russian strike on a weapons depot that was dangerously close to civilian buildings left at least 37 people dead near Ukraine’s capital, the Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country this year.
The strike came after days of nonstop Russian drone attacks on the capital, Kyiv, that have strained Ukraine’s limited air defenses and exhausted the population. The Ukrainian authorities called the storage of weapons in civilian areas negligent and vowed to investigate.
The Russian strike, which took place late Friday, caused huge secondary explosions from stocks of Ukrainian ammunition, including shells, mines and drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in a video address.
The depot, which stored weapons for Ukraine’s armed forces in Myla, west of Kyiv, “definitely shouldn’t have been there,” Mr. Zelensky said. He also warned that the death toll could increase.
The detonations engulfed an entire suburban area in plumes of smoke, shutting down a nearby highway. Officials said that a home for older adults and disabled people was among the severely damaged buildings nearby. The capital region will observe a day of mourning on Sunday, officials said.
“The situation is horrific, and it’s a terrible display of negligence on the part of those who stored explosive materials so close to people,” Mr. Zelensky said, adding that a criminal investigation was already underway into the management of the warehouse.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Saturday that its forces had struck an ammunition depot in Myla, which it said was storing components and launch boosters for long-range drones.
Another Ukrainian ammunition facility in Vyshneve, an area outside Kyiv, was destroyed just last month, killing several people and prompting a separate investigation into the decision to store dangerous arms in civilian areas.
“Making the same mistakes for the fifth year of the full-scale invasion is criminal negligence,” Serhii Koretskyi, Ukraine’s prime minister, said on Saturday after the latest strike. “And all those responsible, without exception, must face severe punishment so that such situations do not happen again.”
Onlookers at the site of a Russian strike where vehicles had burned and a residential building was damaged in Vyshneve, a town in the Kyiv region, on Friday. Alina Smutko/Reuters
Credit..
The destruction of the weapons depo came as Russia has launched a blitz of attacks that have targeted warehouses and shopping centers.
Air raid sirens have wailed nonstop in Kyiv in recent days as Ukrainian forces have struggled to counter an onslaught of Russian drones, many of which are powered by jet engines that allow them to fly at nearly 400 miles an hour.
Ukraine also faces a dire shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles, the only weapon the country has that can shoot down ballistic missiles.
Russia has seized on that gap in Ukraine’s arsenal this summer. Civilians are bracing for the possibility that waves of Russian drones are intended to wear down air defense units before an even larger ballistic attack in the coming days.
In the past, Russia often launched daytime waves of reconnaissance drones ahead of combined drone and missile attacks overnight. But the droves of armed drones that now swarm the capital daily suggest that Russia is using a new tactic to spread fear and anxiety.
Most shops and restaurants remain open in Kyiv, but the constant attacks have caused major traffic jams and delays on the metro system. They could also significantly complicate plans for students to return to school on Tuesday.
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-- Paul Sonne contributed reporting from Berlin.
-- Siobhán O’Grady [see her below self-written bio] is a Ukraine correspondent for The Times, based in Kyiv.
What I Cover
My reporting from Ukraine mostly focuses on Russia’s invasion. I seek stories that help readers understand the military, political and diplomatic aspects of the war while also centering the human experience of surviving it.
My Background
I joined The Times in 2026 after eight years on the international desk at The Washington Post, where I started as a staff writer in Washington and went on to become Cairo bureau chief, chief Ukraine correspondent and Ukraine bureau chief. I arrived in Kyiv three days before the full-scale invasion in 2022 and have been writing about the war ever since. I study Ukrainian, which I understand and speak proficiently. I also speak fluent French and basic Arabic.
Before The Post, I freelanced across Africa and worked at Foreign Policy magazine. I have reported from more than 20 countries. I got my start at two smaller papers: The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass., and The Sentinel in Carlisle, Pa. I graduated from Dickinson College with degrees in political science and French.
Journalistic Ethics
I am committed to upholding the ethical standards of The Times. I report on the war in Ukraine without fear or favor. I seek information from a diverse range of sources and I protect them. I work very hard to ensure my coverage is accurate and fair. Access can often be difficult in dangerous environments but I do not compromise on my reporting standards.
Contact Me
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Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine
-- Where Drones Cannot See: Russian troops are trying to infiltrate the vast, overgrown reservoir basin of a dam they blew up three years ago as Ukrainian soldiers hunt them at close quarters.
-- Coveted Western Tanks: Ukraine pleaded for the expensive weapons, and ultimately got them. But the $10 million machines proved no match for cheap drones that now dominate the battlefield.
-- A.I. Guided Drones: An attack by what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian drone with an Nvidia chip presages a dystopian future of weaponry untethered to humans. The tech giant says it does not sell the devices in Russia, but they are widely available on resale markets. When purchased that way, they are virtually impossible to track.
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How We Verify Our Reporting
Our team of visual journalists analyzes satellite images, photographs, videos and radio transmissions to independently confirm troop movements and other details.
We monitor and authenticate reports on social media, corroborating these with eyewitness accounts and interviews. Read more about our reporting efforts.
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