Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared Saturday that officials who permitted a weapons warehouse to be located in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Kyiv would be held responsible after explosions there claimed 10 lives.
Earlier this week, a Russian strike targeted the small town of Vyshneve, located on the western edge of Kyiv, hitting an arms storage facility and triggering a devastating series of secondary blasts. The explosions left hundreds of nearby homes damaged.
Zelenskiy stated that an investigation conducted by the Ukrainian Security Service had pinpointed which officials within the state-run weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom had approved the use of the Vyshneve warehouse for arms storage.
“This was a direct violation of both the law and a decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s staff,” Zelenskiy said. “The responsible officials have been identified and the state’s position is that each of them must be held accountable.”
Without naming the individuals involved, Zelenskiy said the leaders of two state-owned enterprises had acted in defiance of Ukrainian law and military directives. He added that other officials who may have played a role in those decisions would also come under scrutiny.
“Every enterprise manager must ensure that such tragedies are never repeated,” the president added.
The deadly incident has ignited public outrage, with local residents accusing authorities of negligence and criticizing the lack of transparency from government officials in the aftermath.
