Ukraine launches investigation after Russian strike on depot near homes triggers explosions, kills at least 37

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday the country's authorities had opened an investigation and were looking into possible official "negligence" after a Russian drone strike on a warehouse near Kyiv triggered a large detonation and killed at least 37 people.

"There are regulations in place - ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas," Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Saturday morning.

The president did not explicitly say what had caused the detonation or what the warehouse was storing when it was attacked.

"Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions," Zelenskyy said.

The attack sparked a fire in the Bucha district, west of Kyiv, that swept through homes and damaged at least 50 residential buildings, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration.

Among the dead, Zelenskyy said, was the head of the Dmytrivka community, Taras Didych, who had been working to rescue people.

"Appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn," Zelenskyy added.

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

Zelenskyy later announced that two officials from state-owned companies, including Ukraine's largest arms producer, Ukroboronprom, had illegally allowed the storage of weapons on the site in Vyshneve and would be held accountable.

The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said a drone "fell on or struck the grounds of an enterprise in the town of Myla." 

"A large-scale fire broke out on the enterprise's grounds, and detonation began," it added.

The prosecutor's office specified that its investigation would focus on "the legality of the... storage of explosive objects and materials on the enterprise's grounds", as well as whether the company, which was not named, had the "necessary permits and approvals."

Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky expressed regret that a "lesson" had not been learned after a previous deadly attack in July in Vyshneve, near Kyiv, on a munitions depot.

That investigation revealed serious failings on the part of the state-owned company, which did not comply with standards despite the proximity of residential buildings.