Ukrainian drone attack causes earthquake-sized explosion at arsenal in Russia's Tver region – Euractiv

A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia caused an earthquake-sized explosion at a large arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday (September 18), prompting the evacuation of a nearby town, war bloggers and some media outlets reported.

Unconfirmed videos and photos on social media showed a huge ball of fire exploding into the night sky and multiple explosions across a lake about 380 kilometers (230 miles) west of Moscow.

Ukraine has destroyed one of Russia's largest arms depots.

A swarm of drones hit a warehouse in Toropets in the Tver region, 480 kilometers from the front lines.

The explosion destroyed hundreds of S-300, S-400, Iskander and North Korean ballistic missiles, causing a 2.8 magnitude earthquake pic.twitter.com/Ht6Y7put4C

– Visegrad 24 (@visegrad24) September 18, 2024

NASA satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of ​​about 14 square kilometers at the site in the early morning hours, and seismic monitoring stations also noted what sensors believed to be a small earthquake in the area.

“The enemy hit an ammunition depot in the Toropets area. Everything that can burn is already burning there (and exploding),” said Yuriy Podolyaka, a pro-Russian military blogger of Ukrainian origin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nighttime video address, praised the outcome of the attack without specifically mentioning the target.

“A very important result was achieved last night on Russian territory, and such actions weaken the enemy. I thank everyone who took part. This precision is truly inspiring,” Zelensky said.

He thanked the Ukrainian Security Service, the Military Intelligence Service and the Special Operations Forces.

A source in Ukraine's state security service told Reuters earlier that the drone attack destroyed a warehouse storing missiles, guided bombs and artillery ammunition.

Russian state media have previously reported that a large arsenal of conventional weapons was at the site of the explosions. State media, now subject to military censorship laws, were silent in their reports on Wednesday.

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

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

“The fire started as a result of explosions,” said the woman, who identified herself only as Irina.

Rodinia later said the situation in Toropets was stable as of midday local time (0900 GMT) and that evacuated residents could return. He added that the fire had been extinguished and no deaths had been recorded.

Russia and Ukraine reported dozens of drone attacks on their territory overnight, as Russian forces advanced into eastern Ukraine.

Big bang

The size of the main explosion seen in the unconfirmed video on social media is consistent with the detonation of between 200 and 240 tons of high explosives, said George William Herbert of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

The ammunition depot in Toropets, Tver region, Russia, has turned into a volcanic area. The volcano is still erupting. It is a very impressive sight and probably the most significant event of its kind in this war.

Source: Telegram/Sternenko pic.twitter.com/9tdkYDgmp3

– (((Tendar)))) (@Tendar) September 18, 2024

Toropets' chatroom on the Russian social networking site VK was filled with messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help to people fleeing the city.

Some people have questioned whether buildings at certain addresses are still standing.

“People, does anyone know what happened to the village of Kodino? They told me that nothing is left of our house,” one woman wrote.

“It's scary there,” another woman replied. Kodino is a village 4.5 km northeast of Toropets.

Some war bloggers have questioned how drones could cause such massive explosions in a facility that was thought to be heavily fortified.

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

In 2018, then-Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov told the Russian news agency RIA that the facility could defend against missiles and even small nuclear attacks. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.

“(The concrete structures) ensure their reliable and safe storage, protect them from air and missile strikes and even from the destructive factors of a nuclear explosion,” Bulgakov was quoted as saying at the time by the Russian news agency RIA.

Some Russians in chat groups expressed their anger.

“Why wasn't the ammunition underground?! What are you doing??? In Codino, houses were blown up! Why is the forest burning and there is no one there… What negligence is this!!!!” one woman wrote.

Russia said its air defense units destroyed 54 drones launched at five Russian regions overnight, without mentioning Tver. Ukraine said it shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow overnight, and that Russia used three guided air-to-air missiles that fell short of their targets.

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