The Pechersk District Court in Kyiv has remanded in custody the head of one of the units of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), who was charged in connection with the tragedy in the village of Myla in Bucha district of Kyiv Oblast. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, Slovo i Dilo, 24 Kanal and UNIAN, citing the Office of the Prosecutor General and the State Bureau of Investigation. The suspect is charged with inaction by an official of a military authority under martial law — an offense carrying a penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment. The court offered him the alternative of posting bail.
Timeline of the Attack and the Scale of the Tragedy
According to the investigation, on 28 August 2026 at around 20:10, Russian military forces struck the warehouse premises of one of the enterprises in the village of Myla with unmanned aerial vehicles. Part of these premises was used by an SBU unit to store weapons and ammunition. After the drones hit, a chain detonation of the ammunition began, and the fire and explosions spread to neighboring facilities. As a result, 35 people were killed, one more is missing, and 21 people were injured — among the victims are two children, police officers and rescuers. The most severe damage was inflicted on a nearby sanatorium for the elderly.
The Charge: From a Vegetable Storage Facility to 10 Years in Prison
The investigation established that the suspect, as the head of the unit, was responsible for the storage of weapons and ammunition and allowed them to be placed in the premises of a former vegetable storage facility. According to the case file, the warehouse initially lacked the required passport and did not meet safety requirements for storing explosive items. In addition, the facility was located less than 100 meters from residential buildings. Also, according to the prosecution, the norms for the permissible quantity of ammunition and its dispersal — intended to reduce the risk of simultaneous detonation — were not observed.
What the Investigation Is Checking
The State Bureau of Investigation continues to establish the circle of individuals whose actions or inaction may have affected the scale of the consequences. In particular, it is being verified whether the safety of the facility was properly controlled and whether measures were taken to strengthen its air defense cover. Explosive and fire-technical expert examinations have been appointed, which are to determine the mechanism of the detonation and the causes of the fire's spread.
Consequences for Residents and the Community
As a result of the detonation, 14 apartment buildings and 191 private houses were damaged, and some buildings were completely destroyed. Among the dead was Taras Didych, the head of the Dmytriivka community. The tragedy, which occurred on the evening of 28 August, became one of the heaviest in terms of civilian casualties in Kyiv Oblast in recent times, and the opening of a criminal case against an SBU official marks a new stage of the investigation, in which the key question will be why explosive items were stored near residential houses under the conditions of an active martial law.
