The deadly strike near Kyiv has laid bare two failures at once: Russia’s relentless campaign against Ukrainian cities and Ukraine’s apparent inability to keep military explosives away from civilians.

At least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone hit a warehouse in Myla, west of Kyiv, triggering fires and secondary explosions that damaged at least 50 homes and a facility for elderly and disabled people. Regional officials said dozens more were injured and hundreds evacuated. The attack came during a third consecutive day of near-continuous Russian air raids, underscoring Moscow’s strategy of overwhelming Ukrainian defenses and disrupting civilian life.¹

Kyiv’s account, however, does not stop with Russian responsibility. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the warehouse contained explosive materials stored illegally near residential areas and described the incident as “terrible negligence.”² Ukrainian prosecutors opened an investigation, while officials said criminal proceedings would target those who authorized the storage.

That admission distinguishes the strike from a straightforward account of civilian victimization. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it deliberately targeted a warehouse holding components and launch boosters for long-range drones, portraying the blast as a legitimate military strike. Ukrainian officials, by contrast, emphasized that even a lawful attack on a military site cannot excuse placing ammunition beside homes and a care facility.¹

The dispute is sharpened by precedent. A similar explosion at an ammunition depot in Vyshneve killed people and damaged nearby homes weeks earlier. Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi conceded that the earlier tragedy “did not become a lesson,” calling repeated violations “criminal negligence.”³

The two narratives therefore converge on the scale of the disaster but diverge over accountability. Moscow points to a military target; Kyiv points to Russian aggression while also promising to punish its own officials. For residents, that distinction offers little comfort: the immediate danger came from Russia’s strike, but the scale of the loss may have been worsened by decisions made on the Ukrainian side.