President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to hold accountable officials who permitted weapons warehouses to operate in a residential area on the outskirts of Kyiv, after a Russian strike triggered secondary explosions that killed 10 people and damaged hundreds of homes. The strike hit the small town of Vyshneve, west of Kyiv, earlier this week, setting off a chain of blasts at a warehouse containing arms.
Investigation Identifies Responsible Officials
Zelenskyy announced that an investigation by the Ukrainian Security Service had identified which officials at the state weapons producer Ukroboronprom authorised the use of the warehouse. “This was a direct violation of both the law and a decision of the supreme commander-in-chief’s staff,” he said. “The responsible officials have been identified and the state’s position is that each of them must be held accountable.” He added: “Every enterprise manager must ensure that such tragedies are never repeated.” The incident sparked public outcry, with residents alleging negligence and a lack of information from officials.
Deadly Russian Attacks Across Ukraine
Zelenskyy’s statement came as Russian missile and drone attacks on Saturday killed eight people, including a child, and wounded dozens more across Ukraine. Two glide bombs hit a crowded area in the northern city of Sumy, a frequent Russian target, killing five and injuring 30. In a border district of Sumy region, where Moscow aims to expand a buffer zone, a man was killed after stepping on an explosive device. Glide bombs also injured 10 in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to the regional governor. Two people were killed and another wounded earlier in the day by a missile strike on the southern port city of Odesa.
Kyiv Under Renewed Assault
The injury toll from Saturday’s strikes on Kyiv rose to 12, including two children, according to the city’s mayor. Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 120 drones and 12 missiles during the night, half of them ballistic. “Civilian infrastructure was hit even before the air raid alert was issued,” he added. He posted videos of emergency teams working amid smoke and rubble. Apartment buildings, offices and a theological school were damaged in Kyiv, while recovery efforts were under way in other regions. Zelenskyy noted that air defences “managed to shoot down most of the targets – but not the ballistic ones”. He reiterated his plea for allies to send more military aid to fight off the Russian invasion, now in its fifth year.
Escalation in Attacks on Capital
Russia has intensified strikes on Kyiv in recent weeks. So far this month, attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region have killed more than 60 people. Saturday’s strike on Kyiv marked the second time in less than a week that missiles hit before an air alert was issued. Sergiy Sternenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, said the strike occurred before sirens could indicate incoming Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles. “During ground attacks, these missiles are more difficult to detect by radar,” he said. “There is no military logic to such attacks. It is simply terrorism for the sake of terrorism.” Russia, which denies targeting civilians, said it struck “military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and seaport infrastructure in Odesa”.
Zelenskyy Calls for Faster Arms Deliveries
Zelenskyy also said on Saturday that diplomacy should focus on getting Kyiv’s allies to follow through more quickly on arms-supply agreements. “I am preparing changes in Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts. We need a new level of cooperation with our partners to ensure that agreements on arms supplies are fulfilled,” he said in his nightly video address. “Agreements reached by national leaders must be implemented much more quickly and completely,” he added, specifically citing cooperation with the United States on licensing for the production of Patriot air defence systems.
Ukrainian Drone Strikes Target Russian Ships
Ukraine’s drone forces chief Robert Brovdi said his units had struck 21 fuel tanker vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight, as well as seven other cargo and support ships, bringing the total number of vessels struck this week to 76. Zelenskyy has said the aim of the drone campaign is to bring Russia to the negotiating table, though President Vladimir Putin has not shown willingness to soften his position. One person was killed in a drone attack on four vessels, including a tanker carrying methanol, in Taganrog Bay on the Sea of Azov, Russian authorities said on Saturday. “A seaman on a technical support vessel has lost his life. I offer my condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased. No one else was injured,” Yuri Slyusar, governor of the southern Rostov region, wrote on Telegram. He said the vessels sustained various degrees of damage, but “there is no risk of a methanol spill or leak.”
Russian Advances and Fuel Crisis
Russian troops took control of the settlement of Bachivsk in Ukraine’s Sumy region, the defence ministry said on Saturday. The battlefield report could not be independently verified. Authorities in Russia’s Novosibirsk region have urged residents to work remotely and limit travel by car, amid a deepening fuel crisis triggered by Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries. The region, home to almost three million people, is one of the largest in Siberia by population and a major economic hub. The announcement follows Ukraine’s strike on an oil refinery in the neighbouring Omsk region earlier this week, knocking out one of Russia’s largest oil processing facilities.
