2 people killed, 15 injured in Zhytomyr amid explosions
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Two people have been killed and 15 others injured after explosions rang out beside a highway near the city of Zhytomyr, local officials reported.
The cause of the explosions was not immediately clear and is under investigation, Ukraine’s National Police said.
Zhytomyr City Council reported that the explosions occurred unspecified facility located close to the M-06 highway near Zhytomyr. Serhii Sokalskyi, head of the Hlubochytska community in Zhytomyr Oblast, claimed that the explosions may have rang out at an industrial warehouse near the town of Berezyna — although those details have yet to be confirmed.
Vitaliy Bunechko, head of the Zhytomyr Oblast Military Administration, said that multiple homes and powerlines had been damaged in the explosions, while also confirming the closure of the highway as the investigation carries on.
Videos of the explosions posted to social media show large clouds of smoke billowing out of the area of the explosions.
No information was provided on the status of the injured victims. Emergency responders are currently on-scene.
Located about 140 km west of Kyiv, Zhytomyr has become an occasional target of Russian missile and drone attacks. In recent months, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities, using upwards of 500 drones in attacks.
Despite the increase in attacks, support from Ukraine’s largest defense partner, the United States, has continued to wane. Politico reported on July 1, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the U.S. Defense Department (DOD) has halted shipments of some air defense missiles and other weapons previously promised to Kyiv out of concerns over the size of U.S. stockpiles.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk