On the morning of 31 August, Russia struck a warehouse facility in the Boryspil district of the Kyiv region with a jet-powered drone. A large-scale fire broke out following the strike, and thick black smoke rose above the Kyiv suburbs. Firefighters are working to bring the blaze under control; the extent of the fire, the damage caused and details of any possible casualties are currently being established.
Briefly about the main points
- A Russian jet-powered drone struck a warehouse in the Kyiv region.
- A major fire broke out following the explosion.
- Smoke from the fire can be seen from parts of Kyiv and its suburbs.
- Air raid alerts were sounded repeatedly in the area during the night and this morning.
- If you smell something burning, you are advised to close the windows and spend less time outdoors.
Jet-powered drones have been spotted several times in the Boryspil area
Russian forces attacked the Kyiv region with drones throughout the night and into the morning. Air raid alerts were sounded several times in the Boryspil district.
Monitoring sources and local news channels have repeatedly reported sightings of jet-powered UAVs near Boryspil. At 05:17, reports came in of a target heading towards the city; another UAV was flying past Velyka Dymerka in the city’s direction.
The drones entered the region via various routes, including through the Chernihiv and Poltava regions.
The fire is being put out; the details of the fire are being established
A large plume of black smoke rising from the impact site is visible not only in Boryspil district, as well as from parts of Kyiv and its suburbs.
Firefighters are continuing to bring the fire under control at the scene. The relevant authorities are to determine what was stored in the complex, who owns it, and the final extent of the damage and losses. Details regarding any possible casualties are being clarified.
What to do if smoke has reached residential areas
If there is a smell of burning or smoke appears in residential areas, The Kyiv City State Administration recommends keeping windows tightly closed and limiting time spent outdoors, drink plenty of water and, if possible, switch on an air purifier.
The intensity of the odour may vary depending on the wind direction: smoke can accumulate in areas towards which it is carried, even if readings at all monitoring stations do not reach critical levels. Following fires caused by previous attacks, a temporary deterioration in air quality has already been recorded in Boryspil.
Warehouses in the area were already on fire following the attack
On 27 August, following a combined attack by Russian drones and ballistic missiles in the Boryspil district, fires also broke out in large warehouses. At that time, the State Emergency Service was operating at nine locations.
In the days that followed, Russia continued to launch waves of drones at Kyiv and the surrounding region. A significant proportion of the attacks targeted the region’s logistics, warehousing and other civilian infrastructure.
