Ukraine's SBU opens probe into Bucha district munitions blast that killed at least 37

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has opened a criminal investigation into a Russian strike on ammunition warehouses in the village of Myla, in the Bucha district of Kyiv region, and the secondary detonation of munitions that followed. The probe is being conducted under two articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code — one covering the crime of aggression, and another covering negligent performance of military duties.

According to the SBU, the incident was triggered by a Russian "Geran-4" type drone striking the warehouse, which caused stored munitions to detonate as well. The blasts killed at least 37 people and damaged around 130 residential buildings along with a number of other civilian sites.

Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi confirmed that 37 deaths have been recorded so far, while four more people are still considered missing. He said rescuers are still extinguishing pockets of fire. Around 400 residents were evacuated overnight, and the area near the site remains too dangerous to approach. Overnight, police officers and State Emergency Service personnel also rescued more than 10 people who had been trapped in basements and could not get out on their own.

The minister added that police, together with SBU officers and representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office, are establishing all the circumstances of the incident, including why an ammunition depot was located amid ordinary residential housing in the first place.

Background

Powerful explosions hit the Bucha district on the evening of August 28, sparking a fire at a warehouse and forcing a temporary closure of the M-06 Kyiv–Chop highway between the 15th and 32nd kilometers. By August 29, the death toll from the Russian strike and the subsequent detonations in the Bucha district had risen to 37, with 42 more people injured.

Commenting on the incident, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said munitions must not be stored near residential areas, noting that the first strike on Myla hit Defense Forces warehouses that should not have been located there. Ukraine's General Staff stated that Russia bears the root responsibility for the tragedy.