Myla ammunition-depot strike kills 38 as Ukraine sets higher drone target

Myla strike and investigation

A Russian strike hit a Ukrainian Defense Forces ammunition-storage facility in Myla, Bucha district, west of Kyiv, on the night of August 28. Ukrainian authorities said the site held shells, mines, drones and other munitions. Secondary detonations and fires spread damage into nearby residential buildings.

As of August 30, Zelenskyy reported 38 deaths, 20 injuries including two children, and four people missing. Emergency personnel were still clearing explosives and extinguishing fires, leaving the final casualty count unsettled. The Associated Press reported that more than 370 people were evacuated and at least 50 residential buildings were damaged.

Zelenskyy called the location of the depot near residents negligence and announced a criminal investigation involving the Prosecutor General, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Service of Ukraine and military command. The presidential office said the inquiry would examine the circumstances surrounding the facility. Responsibility for its placement and operation has not been determined.

Higher long-range drone goal

On August 28, Zelenskyy set a target of 1,000 Ukrainian long-range drone launches against Russia per day. He said the existing average exceeded 300 daily launches, making the stated goal more than three times the current rate. The presidential statement established the decision to expand deep strikes, while the Kyiv Independent reported the numerical target.

The 1,000-launch figure is a planned objective rather than an observed operational rate. Sustaining it would require expanded drone production, financing, launch crews, targeting capacity and communications infrastructure. Ukraine has not published an implementation schedule, budget, force structure, or definition of whether the figure represents continuous operations, production capacity or a surge goal.

Energy and infrastructure risks

Ukraine has recently targeted Russian refineries and military infrastructure, including facilities in Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod. Russia describes attacks on retail, energy and logistics facilities as attacks on civilian infrastructure. Ukraine says selected sites provide fuel, revenue or dual-use goods supporting Russia's war effort, and the status of individual targets remains contested.

On August 30, Russia's Defense Ministry said it was preparing large-scale strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy and other sites. Combined with Ukraine's planned expansion of deep strikes, that announcement indicates a direct risk of further attacks on energy, industrial and logistics infrastructure.

Reuters, citing two anonymous industry sources, reported that Russian gasoline production had fallen to roughly 70% of domestic consumption by late August after refinery strikes. The report has not been confirmed through public Russian production data, so the scale and persistence of the reported fuel effect remain uncertain.