Death toll from Russia strike on Ukraine arms depot rises to 38
The death toll from a Russian strike on an arms depot near Kyiv has risen to 38, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.
The strike on the Ukrainian military depot storing ammunition, drones and explosives triggered a huge explosion and fire, and secondary detonations that sent flames shooting into the surrounding area.
Emergency services in the town of Myla have managed to put out most of the fires and bomb disposal teams are working to clear the site, Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
He gave an updated toll of 38 dead, 20 injured, and four missing and said "the extent of contamination in the area is significant".
The attack was the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in less than two months, and officials voiced anger that arms were still being stored so close to residential areas.
Ukrainian prosecutors have opened an investigation into criminal negligence.
Russia launched at least two missiles and 267 drones at Ukraine between late Friday and early Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force.
U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, Europe's deadliest since World War II, have been at a standstill for months.
Russia has demanded sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine, which Kyiv has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://prod.naharnet.com/stories/en/322143 |