Russian attack in Bucha district: at least 27 dead

At least 27 people died on Saturday in a Russian attack that hit the Bucha district, on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. The toll was announced by local authorities, who released an initial update on the situation in the affected area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained that the site hit was a defence forces depot, where ammunition was stored that, in his words, "should absolutely not have been there." The head of state spoke of "large-scale explosions of grenades, mines, other ammunition and drones," triggered by the strike inside the depot.

Dozens of buildings damaged

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration, provided further details on the extent of the damage caused by the bombing. According to his account, the blast hit or otherwise damaged at least 50 residential buildings in the surrounding area. The explosions triggered inside the depot also caused a large fire, which spread to several nearby homes and a restaurant in the neighbourhood, further increasing the material damage.

The Bucha district is once again at the centre of international attention. The same area, located near the capital, had already become known worldwide in 2022, when the Russian occupation in the early stages of the conflict was followed by serious war crimes accusations.

The episode comes amid a marked intensification of air raids on Kyiv. For three consecutive days, the Ukrainian capital has been the target of almost uninterrupted air raid alerts. This situation is having a heavy impact on both the daily life of residents and the city's economic activity, in a conflict that has now lasted more than four and a half years, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country.