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In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the placement of a weapons depot next to civilians was “terrible negligence.” The first impact, he said, hit a depot storing shells, mines, other munitions, and drones that “definitely shouldn’t have been there” – while prosecutors in Kiev opened a criminal investigation into the legality of storing explosives next to civilian housing. This is the second such incident in two months. A July strike on a depot in nearby Vyshneve produced similar secondary blasts, deaths, and later detentions of state defense-company executives.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Myla site held components and launch boosters for long-range drones. It also claimed strikes on Flamingo cruise-missile related facilities in the Kiev region and on the ports of Mykolaiv and Izmail. Social-media claims that Patriots were stored there remain unconfirmed by official Ukrainian statements.
Friday night’s blast came amid a multi-day Russian campaign of jet-powered drones and missiles that has produced near-continuous air-raid alerts over Kiev and hit warehouses belonging to supermarket chains, postal operators, retailers, and logistics firms. Ukraine Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi told reporters that, “roughly speaking,” about 90% of the food-logistics infrastructure used by major retail chains (large distribution centers serving networks such as Fora, Silpo, NOVUS, and Varus) has been destroyed. That said, Vysotskyi insists this won’t result in famine – as chains are switching to more expensive direct-from-producer “on wheels” deliveries. Yet, stores in Kiev are reporting empty shelves for produce, dairy, and staples.

The last operating Epicentr hypermarket in Zaporizhzhia was also hit Friday morning, hours before the Myla blast.
Both sides have been systematically striking each other’s logistics and dual-use commercial infrastructure. Ukraine has targeted Russian refineries, energy sites, and online-retailer warehouses. Russia has answered by going after the warehouses that keep Ukrainian shops stocked. Kiev’s air defenses remain constrained by a well-documented shortage of Patriot interceptors – the only system that reliably stops ballistic missiles. Jet-powered drones have added another layer of pressure.
Zelensky’s government has framed its own long-range strikes as a way to force Russia to negotiate. The immediate result is visible in the suburbs of Kiev: another poorly sited ammo dump cooking off next to civilians, a retail logistics network that Ukraine’s own minister says is 90% gone, and winter approaching. The investigation into who decided to store explosives next to homes will tell one part of the story. The empty shelves and the sirens will tell the rest.



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