The death toll from a Russian drone strike and subsequent ammunition depot explosion in the village of Myla, Kyiv region, has risen to 38, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Sunday, Aug. 30.
In a Telegram update, Zelensky stated that rescue and recovery operations are ongoing. While the majority of the fires have been extinguished, State Emergency Service (SES) pyrotechnic units are working around the clock to detect and neutralize unexploded ordnance scattered across the highly contaminated area.
According to the president, 20 people were injured in the blasts, including two children, while four individuals remain unaccounted for as search efforts continue.
Addressing the broader security situation, Zelensky emphasized the critical need for enhanced air defense, noting a severe escalation in Russian aerial assaults across the country.
Over the past week alone, Russian forces launched nearly 2,000 attack drones, more than 1,600 guided aerial bombs, and 31 missiles – including North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles – against Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky added that frontline and border communities, including Nikopol, Kramatorsk, Kherson, and settlements in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, face near-constant bombardment, promising a “just response” to the ongoing strikes.
Criminal probe into deadly secondary explosions
The death toll in Myla stems from a Russian drone strike on Friday night that targeted an ammunition warehouse, triggering a massive chain of secondary explosions that engulfed the surrounding residential area in the Bucha district.
The detonations forced the emergency evacuation of 381 local residents, including 59 children, and damaged approximately 50 residential buildings. Taras Didych, head of the nearby Dmytrivka community, was previously confirmed to be among the first responders killed at the scene.
The incident has sparked outrage and prompted a criminal negligence investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the National Police regarding the illegal storage of military munitions in close proximity to civilian zones.
Zelensky previously demanded strict accountability for the placement of the depot, stating that those responsible must answer for their decisions. Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi also condemned the situation as “criminal negligence,” citing a failure by officials to learn from a similar catastrophic ammunition detonation in Vyshneve earlier in the war.