Kyiv warehouse strike death toll hits 38 as Russia warns on energy attacks

Kyiv,UPDATED: Aug 30, 2026 16:54 IST

The death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv has risen to 38, with four people still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media on Sunday. He said 20 people were injured, including two children, in what has been described as the deadliest attack of the war so far this year.

As Ukraine dealt with the aftermath of the Friday night strike, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday it was preparing to launch "massive strikes" on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Moscow said this would be in response to what it called Kyiv's "ongoing attacks on Russia's civilian infrastructure and fuel and energy sector".

The strike hit a warehouse in the village of Myla, which Ukrainian officials identified as an ammunition storage facility. The attack triggered massive explosions and fires that spread through dozens of nearby homes and buildings.

Zelenskyy said emergency workers were still putting out fires at the site and identifying and neutralising explosive devices.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that Moscow would give "an appropriate response" to what he described as Ukraine's "path of escalation" and its targeting of Russia's civilian economy. He told Russian state media that Russia had been carrying out "fairly systematic" strikes on what he called Kyiv's military and war-related infrastructure.

Ukraine has in recent months launched deadly strikes on facilities linked to Russia's biggest online retailer, Wildberries, which has been dubbed "Russia's Amazon". Kyiv says the company sells dual-use goods that have aided the Kremlin's war effort. Ukrainian drones have also struck Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure, contributing to a fuel crisis in a country that is one of the world's biggest energy producers.

During previous winters in the war, Russia repeatedly targeted Ukraine's power grid, leaving thousands without heat and light in freezing conditions. Ukrainian officials have warned that the coming winter could be the most difficult since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Also on Sunday, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had downed or neutralised almost 500 Ukrainian drones launched overnight. Independent Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels said the attacks caused a fire at a major oil refinery in Kirishi, southeast of St Petersburg.

The Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis facility is one of Russia's largest oil refineries and the only one in the country's northwest. There was no immediate official confirmation, but local Governor Alexander Drozdenko said a fire broke out "at Kirishi's industrial zone" after the drone strikes and added that 62 drones had been shot down over the surrounding region.

Separately, at least three people were injured in a Russian drone strike on Kyiv late on Saturday as air raid alerts continued through the day. State emergency services said a fire broke out between the second and fifth floors of a 12-storey residential building in the Obolonskyi district, while rescue workers also responded to fires in three other districts of the capital. Non-residential and administrative buildings at two locations were also affected, they said.

Russia, meanwhile, said its drones struck a Kyiv plant making asbestos and cement products, claiming the site's warehouses were being used to store explosives. The developments came as Ukraine counted the rising toll from the Myla strike and Russia warned of fresh attacks on Ukraine's energy system.

With PTI Inputs

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