Russian attack kills at least 37 in Bucha district near Kyiv, officials say

At least 37 people were killed after a Russian attack struck Ukraine’s Bucha district near Kyiv, officials said. The attack damaged dozens of buildings and triggered a major fire. More than 370 people were evacuated as Russian attacks continued across Ukraine

Kyiv: At least 37 people were killed following a Russian attack on the Bucha district near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, officials said on Saturday.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration, said at least 50 residential buildings were damaged in the attack, which also sparked a large-scale fire that spread to homes and a restaurant.

In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a warehouse had been struck in the village of Myla, “followed by a detonation”. He did not provide details about the site but said in the same message that criminal proceedings had been opened on charges of official negligence.

“There are regulations in place — ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader said a care home for elderly people and persons with disabilities, along with residential buildings, was damaged.

“More than 370 people have already been evacuated, and the evacuation is ongoing,” he said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi also did not provide details about the warehouse that was targeted but referred to an attack on the Kyiv suburb of Vyshneve earlier this month, which hit an ammunition depot, killing 22 people and triggering large explosions and fires that tore through nearby homes.

“Unfortunately, we can already see that the terrible tragedy in Vyshneve did not become a lesson,” Koretskyi said. “In the fifth year of a full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes is criminal negligence. And all those guilty, without exception, must be severely punished so that such situations do not happen again.”

In a statement, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had struck a warehouse in Myla that stored components and launch boosters for long-range drones. It also said it had attacked the ports of Mykolaiv and Izmail, as well as a logistics centre and warehouse facilities in the Kyiv region that stored parts for Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missiles.

Almost constant air raids in Kyiv have now entered their third day, choking the economy in the Ukrainian capital and severely disrupting civilian life more than four-and-a-half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Elsewhere, Russian attacks across Ukraine’s southern Kherson region on Saturday killed two people and wounded 27 others, a local official said.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional administration, said the attacks had damaged homes and apartment blocks and that one child was among those injured.

Earlier this week, Prokudin said Russia had intensified attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which is about 70 per cent under Russian control. He also urged tens of thousands of residents to move to safer areas because of the possibility of prolonged power and heating outages this winter.