Ammunition Explosion in Mila Near Kyiv: SBU Official Charged and Placed in Custody

This was reported by the press office of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Updated at 11:25 a.m.:

The court remanded the head of the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) logistics unit—who was in charge of the ammunition depot in the village of Mila—into custody for two months, with an alternative bail set at over 499,000 hryvnias. This was reported to Suspilne by the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) and the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv.

The pretrial measure was imposed on September 7. Bail for the suspect has not yet been posted.

The Prosecutor General’s Office stated that the official is charged with willful failure by a military officer to perform actions required by his official duties, under martial law, which resulted in serious consequences (Part 4 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

It is noted that on August 28, at approximately 8:10 p.m., Russian troops attacked the storage facilities of one of the enterprises with drones. Some of these facilities were used by a unit of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). After the strikes, the ammunition began to detonate, and the explosions and fire spread to neighboring facilities.

The press service noted that a nearby retirement home sustained the most damage. Additionally, 14 apartment buildings and 191 private homes were damaged, and some buildings were completely destroyed. In addition, 24 vehicles were damaged, including police and rescue vehicles.

The office emphasized that the suspect, as the head of the unit responsible for storing weapons and ammunition, allowed them to be stored in a former vegetable storage facility.

According to the investigation, the facility failed to comply with requirements regarding the permissible quantity of ammunition and its distribution, which were intended to reduce the risk of simultaneous detonation and damage to surrounding structures.

The investigation is examining the circumstances surrounding the inadequate safety oversight of the facility and the failure to take measures to strengthen its air defense. Forensic explosive and fire-technical examinations have been ordered as part of the proceedings.

Investigators are establishing all the circumstances, as well as identifying other individuals whose decisions, actions, or inaction may have influenced the scale of the consequences of the Russian attack.

A preventive measure has been imposed on the suspect.

As a reminder, on August 28, 35 people were killed as a result of Russian drones striking and subsequently detonating at a warehouse in the village of Mila in the Bucha district, including Taras Didych, the head of the Dmytrivka community, who had gone to the scene to help people. More than 40 others were injured.

According to residents of the village of Mila in Kyiv Oblast, the ammunition depot that detonated after the Russian strike on August 28 had previously been used as a vegetable storage facility, but villagers told a “Shelter” reporter that they were unaware of the danger posed by the nearby ammunition depot.