Zelenskiy says Ukraine officials will be held accountable for weapons store
July 11 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that officials who allowed weapons depots to operate in a residential area outside Kiev where explosions killed 10 people have been identified and will be held accountable.
In this week’s Russian attack on the small town of Vyshneve on the western outskirts of Kiev, a warehouse containing weapons was hit and a series of “secondary explosions” occurred. Hundreds of houses were damaged.
Zelenskiy said an investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine had revealed which officials at state arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom authorized the use of the warehouse in Vyshneve.
“This was a direct violation of both the law and the decision of the Commander-in-Chief staff,” he said. “The responsible officials have been identified and the state’s position is that each of them must be held accountable.”
Without identifying the defendants, Zelenskiy said that the heads of the two state-owned enterprises operated in violation of the law and decisions taken by the Ukrainian military. He said other officials who may have contributed to the decisions would also be investigated.
“Every business manager must ensure that tragedies like this never happen again,” he said.
The incident sparked a public outcry, with residents claiming negligence and lack of information from authorities.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Alistair Bell)
