Ukraine says it ‘destroyed’ weapons depot in western Russia in drone attack

Ukrainian drones have “destroyed” a warehouse containing missiles and artillery ammunition in western Russia, a source in Ukraine’s security service (SBU) told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday, with Russian authorities ordering evacuations due to a ” fire “.

Videos posted on social media and by Russian and Ukrainian media show impressive repeated explosions and a huge plume of smoke. The Worlde is not able to confirm their authenticity at this time.

On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, drones were “literally destroyed” a warehouse located in the Tver region, in Toropets, the Ukrainian source said. Ballistic missiles, guided aerial bombs and artillery ammunition were stored there, she said. “After the Ukrainian drone strikes, a very powerful detonation occurred”added this source.

In 2018, Dmitry Bulgakov, then Russia’s deputy defense minister, said that a warehouse for storing missiles, ammunition and explosive materials would soon be put into operation in Toropets, according to state news agency Ria Novosti. The town is about 400 kilometers northwest of Moscow.

Residents evacuated

The Tver regional authorities announced on Telegram that a ” fire [était] being extinguished at the site where the debris from a drone fell” in Toropets, without mentioning any weapons warehouse. They claimed that the anti-aircraft defense systems continued to “repel a massive drone attack” against the city.

“In order to ensure the safety of residents, the governor of the Tver region, Igor Rudenia, ordered a partial evacuation of the population”authorities said. Hours later, residents were allowed to “return home”said Igor Roudenia on Telegram. “The most important thing is that our fellow citizens were not seriously injured, there were no deaths.”he said. Buildings were damaged by the drones, regional authorities said, adding that “In most cases it is broken glass”.

According to Volcanodiscovery, the explosion was so powerful that it caused a local earthquake measuring 2.8 magnitude north of Toropets, which began shaking at 4:29 a.m. (3:29 a.m. CEST). NASA satellites also recorded significant thermal anomalies across much of the 107^e arsenal.

Ukraine regularly carries out drone strikes against Russian territory, sometimes hitting targets far from its borders. It often claims to target military or energy infrastructure in order to disrupt the logistics of Russian troops, who invaded the country in February 2022. kyiv carries out these strikes in response to the Russian bombardments that devastate its territory daily.