Ukrainian attack on Russian arms depot causes earthquake-sized explosion

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Ukrainian drones struck a large Russian military depot and weapons warehouse early Wednesday, causing an earthquake-sized explosion, according to multiple reports.

Kyiv claimed its attack destroyed military depots in Toropets, a town in Russia's Tver region about 240 miles northwest of Moscow and about 300 miles from the border with Ukraine.

The operation was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence and special operations forces.

A senior official in Kyiv said the warehouse contained Iskander and Tochka-U missiles, as well as glide bombs and artillery shells. The facility caught fire in the strike and spread over four miles, he said.

Another Ukrainian intelligence official told The Associated Press that among the destroyed munitions were North Korean KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles — though he did not provide evidence to support his claim.

Russia and North Korea signed a historic agreement in June that provides for mutual military assistance between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Satellite images of the Toropets ammunition depot on September 7 (left) and after Wednesday's strike (right) (Maxar Tech)

Unconfirmed videos and photos on social media showed a massive ball of fire shooting high into the night sky and multiple explosions across a lake.

NASA satellites picked up intense heat sources coming from the warehouse, and seismic monitoring stations picked up what sensors believed was a tremor 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.

Russian state media have previously reported that a large arsenal of conventional weapons was found 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 aftermath of a massive series of explosions at an ammunition depot in Toropets, Russia (AP)

The size of the main explosion, shown in the unverified 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.

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. diplomat said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has a workable plan to end the war — but the details have not been made public. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said officials in Washington had seen it. “We believe it outlines a strategy and a plan that can work,” she told reporters.

Zelensky is still seeking Western approval for Ukraine to use advanced weapons it supplies to strike targets inside Russia. Some Western leaders have balked, fearing they could be dragged into the conflict.

Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered the Russian military to increase its strength by about 180,000 troops to 1.5 million by December 1.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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