Official suspected over Mola explosion that killed 35 released on bail
Ukrainian investigators have charged a Security Service of Ukraine official with negligence over the upkeep of an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region village of Mola, where a Russian strike killed 35 people. The suspect was released on bail last weekend.
Sources within Ukraine's law enforcement told Ukrainska Pravda that an official heading a support unit of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), suspected of negligence, was released on bail last weekend. The bail amount was set at 499,200 hryvnias.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General's Office have named him a suspect over improper storage of ammunition at a depot in the village of Mola, in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region, where a Russian strike killed 35 people.
What happened in Mola
Powerful explosions struck Mola on the evening of August 28: a fire broke out in a storage facility, and traffic was halted along a stretch of the M-06 Kyiv–Chop highway between the 15th and 32nd kilometers. Initial reports put the death toll at 38, but law enforcement later revised the figure down to 35 as they confirmed casualty data.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, commenting on the incident, said ammunition should never be stored near residential areas. He also said the first strike on Mola hit Defense Forces depots that should not have been located there.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, addressing the deaths of dozens of people after the Russian strike on Mola, said the root cause of the tragedy lies with Russia.
