At least 37 people were killed in a Russian drone attack late at night on a military weapons and ammunition depot near a residential area on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Another 42 were injured.
The attack caused a large amount of explosives and ammunition in the depot to explode, causing a massive fire in the surrounding area. About 400 people have been evacuated from the affected areas.
The governor of the Kiev region, Timur Tkachenko, said that 37 people have been confirmed dead in the Russian attack in the Bucha district so far. 42 people, including four children, were injured. Rescue teams have been continuing search and rescue operations in the damaged buildings since Saturday morning.
Tkachenko also said that a 14-year-old boy was killed in a separate attack in the Boryspil district. He called it "another victim of Russian terrorism."
Local administrative sources said that at least 50 buildings, a nursing home and a restaurant in the area were severely damaged in the Russian drone attack on Friday night. The intensity of the explosion was so high that traffic on the Kyiv-Chop highway had to be stopped.
The Ukrainian Air Force claimed that between Friday night and Saturday morning, Russia launched at least 267 drones and two missiles, most of which were destroyed by air defense systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the attack. He said that more than 300 emergency rescue workers have been deployed to the scene.
However, Zelensky ordered an investigation after the drone attack and the issue of administrative and state negligence behind the incident came to light. He expressed his anger and said that storing explosives and ammunition near localities or ordinary people's homes is illegal and highly unregulated.
Ukraine's state prosecutor's office has already opened a criminal negligence case and is investigating whether there was a valid permit or security clearance to store explosives at the site.
In addition to the capital Kiev, Russia has also carried out overnight attacks in the Ukrainian regions of Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Zaporizhia.
In a message on the social media platform Telegram, Zelensky said that Ukraine cannot fight alone to protect itself from such attacks. Thank you to all those who are standing by us with additional aid packages and sanctions against Russia.
The Ukrainian military said that they were able to shoot down 233 drones (UAVs) sent by Russia in the attack on Saturday night.
Both sides have intensified attacks in recent months. Ukraine has been mainly targeting Russian economic and strategic infrastructure.
Ukrainian attacks have been reported in the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Rostov in the past 24 hours. Rostov Governor Yuriy Slusar said seven people were injured in Ukrainian attacks in his region.
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