The blast at an ammunition depot near Kyiv has become a grim collision of two realities: Russia’s escalating campaign against Ukrainian cities and Ukraine’s potentially fatal decision to store explosives beside homes and a care facility.

At least 37 people were initially reported killed, with the toll later rising to 38, after a Russian drone struck the site in Myla and triggered hours of secondary explosions. The attack damaged dozens of homes and a nearby facility for elderly people and people with disabilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the storage decision “terrible negligence” and said criminal proceedings had been opened.¹

Residents offered an even sharper indictment. Vira, whose village home was damaged, said: “Those who set up the depot here are to blame. There are people here, this is a village. You can’t keep something like that here.”² Yet residents also identified the ultimate responsibility with Moscow. Liudmyla’s answer was bluntly dual: “Putin! Who else? And those who set up the depot here.”²

Kyiv’s account therefore differs from Moscow’s chiefly in emphasis. Ukraine describes a Russian attack compounded by official negligence; Russia’s Defence Ministry says it struck a warehouse holding components and launch boosters for long-range drones.³ The competing narratives do not erase the central fact that civilians bore the cost—but they shape the question of accountability.

The incident also fits a wider cycle of escalation. Ukrainian officials say Russia has intensified strikes with high-speed drones, while Kyiv has expanded attacks on Russian military and energy targets. Moscow said it was preparing “massive strikes” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in response to attacks on Russian facilities.⁴ NATO, meanwhile, said Russia was increasing attacks and hybrid operations but saw no imminent threat to the alliance.

The blast thus exposes more than a single security failure. Russia’s targeting made the catastrophe possible; Ukraine’s storage practices made its consequences far worse. For survivors, assigning blame to only one side is no longer credible.