Ukrainian prime minister blames ‘criminal negligence’ for massive warehouse detonation near Kyiv

Russian forces struck the Kyiv region on the evening of August 28.

A fire broke out in the Bucha district, triggering a series of secondary explosions. The Kyiv-Chop highway was temporarily closed between the 15- and 32-kilometer markers, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, reported. Tkachenko said the attack set warehouse facilities on fire.

Russian military bloggers reported that an ammunition depot near Kyiv was attacked.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi stated that the strike in the Bucha district was the result of “criminal negligence,” much like the incident in Vyshneve in early July. “Unfortunately, it is already clear that the terrible tragedy in Vyshneve did not serve as a lesson. In the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes is criminal negligence. And all those guilty, without exception, must face severe punishment,” Koretskyi wrote.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office stated that it is investigating the circumstances of the explosions. Officials clarified that the fire started at a commercial enterprise in the village of Myla, injuring five people. In the Bucha district, one private home was destroyed and seven others were damaged.

Overnight into July 6, Russia struck Kyiv and the surrounding region with missiles and drones. The city of Vyshneve came under attack, triggering explosions at a Ukroboronprom warehouse. Authorities reported that nine people died in the Vyshneve strike. Almost 300 residential buildings were damaged in the city, and 91 of them were completely destroyed. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that a criminal investigation had been opened, that the guilty would be held accountable, and that there would “undoubtedly be dismissals” at Ukroboronprom.