The death toll from a deadly explosion and fire has risen to 37 after a Russian drone attack on a warehouse on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Forty-two others were injured in the incident. Local officials said on Saturday.
The warehouse is located in the Mila area of Bucha district on the western outskirts of Kiev. The explosives were stored there. After the Russian attack, there was a large explosion in the warehouse and the fire spread to nearby residential areas and a restaurant.
Kiev’s governor, Timor Takachenko, said at least five residential buildings were damaged in the attack. More than thirty-eight people have been evacuated from the area for security reasons. Among the dead were Taras Didich, the mayor of the village of Dmitrivska.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the investigation was being carried out to determine whether the storage of ammunition in warehouses near residential areas was illegal. Prosecutors are also investigating whether there was necessary permission and security clearance to keep the explosives in the warehouse.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired at least two missiles and 267 drones into the country from late Friday to Saturday morning. Other areas of Kiev have also been attacked. Three people were killed in the attack, including a two-year-old child. A fourteen-year-old girl was also killed on the outskirts of the capital.
At least three people were killed and nine wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia’s Belgorod region, local authorities said. One person was killed and three injured in a drone strike in Sevastopol, Russia-controlled Crimea.
There is an increase in civilian casualties in the ongoing drone strikes in both countries. The explosion at a warehouse near Kiev has raised new questions about the safety of weapons and explosives stored outside the battlefield.
Source: Al Jazeera