Ukrainian drone triggers explosion at arsenal in Russia's Tver region

A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered a seismic explosion at a major weapons depot in the Tver region on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of a nearby town, war bloggers and some media reported.

Unconfirmed videos and images on social media showed a huge fireball shooting into the night sky and several detonations thundering over a lake about 380 kilometers west of Moscow.

In the early morning hours, NASA satellites at the accident site detected intense heat sources emanating from an area of about 14 square kilometers. Earthquake monitoring stations recorded what sensors believed to be a minor earthquake in the region.

“The enemy hit an ammunition depot in the Toropets area,” said Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born pro-Russian military blogger. “Everything that can burn is already burning there (and exploding).” Another Ukrainian report said the arsenal was 30,000 tons and that the target attacked was a warehouse containing missiles and ammunition worth $200 billion. At least 10 Russian soldiers guarding the arsenal were killed, according to the report.

Zelenskyj's statement on the attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday welcomed the “very important” results of the night-time military operation on Russian territory, but did not specifically mention the attack on a large weapons arsenal northwest of Moscow.

In this screenshot from a social media video on September 18, 2024, a mushroom cloud rises after an explosion in the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Toropets, Tver Region, Russia. (Source: Social Media/via REUTERS)

“Last night a very important result was achieved on Russian territory, and such actions weaken the enemy,” Zelensky said in his evening video address. “I thank everyone involved. Such precision is truly inspiring.”

He thanked the security service SBU, the secret service HUR and the Special Operations Forces.

A source in the Ukrainian state security service SBU had previously told Reuters that the drone attack had destroyed a warehouse where missiles, guided bombs and artillery ammunition were stored.

Russian state media had previously reported that there was a large arsenal of conventional weapons at the site of the explosions. The state media, which are now subject to military censorship, reported only cautiously on Wednesday.

Igor Rudenya, governor of the Tver region, said Ukrainian drones had been shot down, a fire had broken out and some residents were being evacuated. He did not say what was burning.

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A woman told Reuters that members of her family had been evacuated from Toropets.

“A fire broke out with explosions,” said the woman, who identified herself only as Irina.

Rudenya later said the situation in Toropets was stable as of noon local time (09:00 GMT) and evacuated residents could return. The fire had been extinguished and there were no casualties, he said.

Russia and Ukraine each reported dozens of enemy drone attacks on their territory overnight as Russian forces advanced in eastern Ukraine.

Big explosion

The strength of the main explosion seen in the unverified social media video was equivalent to the detonation of 200 to 240 tons of explosives, said George William Herbert of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

A Toropets chatroom on the Russian social media site VK was flooded with messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help for those fleeing the city.

Some people asked if the buildings at certain addresses were still standing.

“Guys, does anyone know what happened to the village of Kudino??? They told me there was nothing left of our house,” one woman posted.

Another woman replied: “It’s horrible there.” Kudino is a village 4.5 kilometers northeast of Toropets.

Some war bloggers asked how drones could trigger such large explosions in a supposedly heavily fortified facility.

According to a 2018 report by the state news agency RIA, Russia built an arsenal to store missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets, a 1,000-year-old town with a population of just over 11,000.

Dmitry Bulgakov, then deputy defense minister, told RIA in 2018 that the facility could protect weapons from missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.

“They (the concrete facilities) ensure their reliable and safe storage, protect them from air and missile attacks and even from the harmful effects of a nuclear explosion,” RIA quoted Bulgakov as saying at the time.

Some Russians expressed their anger in chat groups.

“Why wasn't the ammunition underground?! What are you doing???? Houses were blown up in Kudino! Why is the forest burning and no one is there… What kind of negligence is this!!!!” posted one woman.

Russia reported that its air defense units destroyed 54 drones launched against five Russian regions overnight, but did not mention Tver. Ukraine said it shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow overnight, and Russia used three guided missiles that failed to reach their targets.

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