Death Toll Rises to 38 from Russia’s Deadliest Attack on Ukraine This Year

KYIV — The death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv, the war’s deadliest attack so far this year, rose to 38 with four people still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media Sunday.

The Friday night strike on the warehouse in the village of Myla, which Ukrainian officials said was storing ammunition, sparked massive explosions and fires that swept through dozens of nearby homes and buildings. Emergency workers continued to extinguish fires and identify and neutralize explosive devices at the site. At least 20 people were injured, including two children, according to Zelenskyy. Regional officials put the injury figure higher.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy described the attack as “a terrible situation” resulting from “terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people.” He said an investigation was underway into why the ammunition had been kept there.

The attack occurred amid a sharp intensification of Russia’s air campaign in the 4½-year-old war, with prolonged air raid sirens and the sound of air defenses echoing across Kyiv.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday it is preparing “massive strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in response to Kyiv’s ongoing drone campaign against Russian civilian infrastructure, online retailers and the oil and gas sector. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector “an appropriate response” to what he described as Ukraine’s path of escalation.