Russia-Ukraine War Escalates: Kyiv Strike Death Toll Rises To 38 As Moscow Warns Of Massive Attacks

The death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv has risen to 38, making it the deadliest Russian attack on Ukraine so far this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.

The strike took place late Friday at a warehouse in the village of Myla, which Ukrainian officials identified as an ammunition storage facility. Massive explosions and fires followed, spreading to dozens of nearby homes and buildings.

Emergency teams remained at the site on Sunday, working to extinguish the fires while searching for survivors and dealing with explosive devices. Twenty people were injured, including two children, while four people remained missing.

The deadly attack came amid a sharp escalation in strikes between Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it was preparing to launch “massive strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, describing the move as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure and the fuel and energy sector.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would give an “appropriate response” to what he described as Kyiv’s escalating campaign against Russia’s economy. He said Russian forces had been carrying out systematic attacks on Ukrainian military and war-related infrastructure.

Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and energy facilities in recent months. The campaign has contributed to a severe fuel crisis in Russia, while Kyiv has also targeted Wildberries, one of Russia’s biggest online retailers, accusing it of handling dual-use goods that support Moscow’s war effort.

Russia said its forces had downed or neutralised nearly 500 Ukrainian drones launched overnight. Reports also emerged of a fire at a major refinery in Kirishi, southeast of St Petersburg, following the drone attacks, though there was no immediate official confirmation linking the fire to the strikes.

Meanwhile, Russian drones struck Kyiv late Saturday, injuring at least three people and damaging residential and administrative buildings.

The latest violence comes as Ukrainian officials warn that the approaching winter could be among the most difficult since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with fears that renewed attacks on the power grid could deepen the humanitarian crisis.