37 Killed in Russian Strike on Kyiv Weapons Warehouse as Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Loses Power

Kyiv, Ukraine – At least 37 people have been killed after a Russian drone struck a warehouse near Kyiv's western suburbs that was storing "explosive objects", as Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost off-site power for more than a week and is now relying on emergency diesel generators.

The attack damaged at least 50 residential buildings, including a care home for elderly and disabled people, and sparked a huge fire and explosions in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region. The regional governor, Tymur Tkachenko, said a further 42 people, including four children, had been injured in the strike.

More than 370 people have been evacuated from the area and the evacuation process was continuing, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said. In a statement, he said a warehouse in the town of Myla had been struck, "followed by a detonation".

The warehouse was a depot owned by the Ukrainian military and stored shells, drones and other munitions, Zelenskyy said in a video address. "The first impact was on a place where ammunition was being stored that absolutely should not have been there – a depot of the defence forces. [There was] detonation of shells, mines, other munitions and drones on a significant scale," the Ukrainian president said.

Criminal proceedings had been opened on charges of official negligence, he added. "There are regulations in place; ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas."

He said one of the people killed was the head of the Dmytrivka community, Taras Didych, who died while rescuing others.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Crisis

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been without off-site power for more than a week and is now relying on emergency diesel generators, the UN's nuclear watchdog says. The plant, which needs power to keep its six non-operating reactors cool, has only a 10-day diesel supply on site, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday.

"The availability of diesel fuel is of paramount importance whenever a nuclear power plant loses off-site power," said agency director general Rafael Grossi. "The current situation once again shows why reliable external power and secure supply routes are indispensable for nuclear safety and security." The plant had been supplied with diesel on Thursday and Friday from another off-site location, the IAEA added.

Zaporizhzhia lost its regular power supply "following military activity on the northern side of the Dnipro River", the statement said. The IAEA said it was trying to negotiate a local ceasefire to allow repairs to electrical lines. The plant, in southern Ukraine, was seized by the Russian army in March 2022 and its six reactors have been shut down since that year.

Ukraine's Investigation

Ukrainian prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into the legality of the "storage of explosive objects and materials".

The Ukrainian prime minister, Serhii Koretskyi, expressed regret that mistakes had not been learned from a previous deadly strike on a munitions depot in Vyshneve, near Kyiv, in July.

An investigation into that incident, in which 22 people were killed and fires tore through nearby homes, revealed serious failings on the part of a state-owned company, which did not comply with regulations on the proximity of residential buildings.

"Unfortunately, we can already see that the terrible tragedy in Vyshneve did not become a lesson," Koretskyi said. "In the fifth year of a full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes is criminal negligence. And all those guilty, without exception, must be severely punished so that such situations do not happen again."

Russia's Claims

In a statement, Russia's ministry of defence said it had hit a warehouse in Myla storing components and launch boosters for long-range drones. It said it had also attacked the ports of Mykolaiv and Izmail, as well as a logistics centre and warehouse facilities storing parts for Ukraine's Flamingo cruise missiles in the Kyiv region.

Elsewhere, Russian attacks across Ukraine's southern Kherson region killed two people and wounded 27 more on Saturday, including a child, a local official said.

Germany's Response

Germany is reportedly preparing to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport and impose sanctions on Russian entities. Friedrich Merz's government is expected to announce the "extensive" measures in the next week, Politico reports, potentially alongside a new EU sanctions package.

Finland's President on NATO

Finland's president said he did not believe Russia would risk an attack against a Nato country, with Alexander Stubb telling the Bild newspaper that it would "make no sense" to test the resolve of the alliance. "I simply see neither evidence nor facts to support it," he told Bild, adding that he did not believe that Russia "would ever want to attack Nato, the world's most powerful military alliance".

Stubb, whose country joined Nato in 2023, said the alliance had to be prepared for any scenario but he did not believe Moscow was in a position to go to war with Nato.

What's Next

• Zaporizhzhia power: Negotiations for ceasefire to repair lines
• Diesel supply: Urgent need to replenish plant's fuel
• Investigation: Officials held accountable for munitions storage
• Germany: Potential sanctions on Russian entities
• NATO readiness: Alliance response to threats