Ukraine admits there is an ‘illegal weapons warehouse’ near residential areas in Kiev

“The state defense corporation Ukroboronprom arranged an ammunition depot in the city of Vyshneve, despite the law and the Supreme Command of the Ukrainian Army prohibiting this,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 11 and announced that business leaders would be held criminally responsible.

Ukraine’s Defense Industry Corporation (Ukroboronprom) is the country’s largest arms manufacturer and one of the world’s 50 largest enterprises in the field of arms industry. Ukroboronprom manages many companies responsible for the development, production, sales, repair, modernization of weapons and ammunition, as well as military-technical cooperation with foreign countries.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has identified those responsible, including the leaders of two companies belonging to Ukroboronprom. The group’s deputy directors and a number of other officials are also being investigated, their identities have not been announced.

President Zelensky asked the SBU to coordinate with law enforcement forces to investigate and called on Ukrainian defense enterprises not to let similar incidents happen again. “We have regulations on suitable locations to store weapons and ammunition, ensuring there are no residential areas nearby. The damage recovery process must happen faster, not just Vyshneve,” he said.

However, President Zelensky and Ukrainian officials have not announced what weapons are stored at the warehouse in Vyshneve.

“There is still a lot of work to be done. We not only have to overcome the consequences of the raid, but we also have to rebuild every house and street and give people back a normal life and a sense of security,” Kiev governor Mykola Kalashnyk said on July 11.

On July 6, the Russian army raided a series of targets in the capital Kiev and the province of the same name, including the Zhulyany Machine Manufacturing Factory (Vizar) in the city of Vyshneve. This is said to be the place to produce components for the R-360 Neptune anti-ship missile, as well as 5V55 and 48N6 missiles for the S-300 air defense complex.

Video recorded by Vyshneve residents showed a large halo of fire rising from the Vizar factory area, accompanied by a series of secondary explosions and many debris flying around. At least two objects shot up from the scene and then crashed into an apartment complex quite far away, seemingly being missiles triggered by the explosion.

Nearly 500 residents in Vyshneve were evacuated due to the continued risk of a secondary explosion. Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said about 130,000 square meters of residential homes were damaged, adding that this was the largest damage to residential areas in Ukraine since the conflict broke out.

The Ukrainian Emergency Response Agency had to dispatch 300 employees to the scene to deal with the consequences.

Igor Mosiychuk, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament, said the Russian missile hit “a depot of cluster munitions and artillery shells containing depleted uranium”, asserting that this material did not cause dangerous levels of radiation but did make the explosions more powerful.

According to Mr. Mosiychuk, local residents were asked to stay indoors and close their windows after the attack. “I don’t know which bastard allowed the ammunition depot to be placed on the outskirts of Kiev,” said the former Ukrainian lawmaker and called for the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.