Russian strike near Kyiv kills 37, in one of the year's deadliest attacks

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire in a warehouse following a Russian drone attack near Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday. Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP hide caption

KYIV, Ukraine — At least 37 people have been killed following a Russian strike close to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, officials said Saturday, one of the deadliest attacks to hit Ukraine this year.

The attack sparked a fire in the Bucha district, west of Kyiv, that swept through homes and damaged at least 50 residential buildings, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration.

The strike comes as almost constant Russian air raids on Kyiv reach their third day, choking the economy in the Ukrainian capital and severely disrupting civilian life more than 4½ years after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

But the nature of the strike, which was followed by explosions at the site, has also raised difficult questions for Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing a "terrible situation" and "terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people."

Zelenskyy said in a statement that a warehouse had been struck in the village of Myla, "followed by a detonation."

He did not give details on the site, but wrote in the same message that Ukrainian law forbade the storage of ammunition close to civilian homes and that criminal proceedings had been opened.

"Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions," Zelenskyy said.