A suspected Ukrainian drone attack at an ammunition depot in Russia’s Tver region has been described on social media as possibly the biggest event of the war started by Vladimir Putin.
Unverified images on social media show a huge ball of flame following the strike on the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) arsenal in Toropets, about 240 miles west of Moscow, at about 3.30 a.m. Wednesday. Footage shows numerous subsequent detonations.
Ukrainian internal affairs advisor Anton Gerashchenko posted on X that there were reports the explosion was the equivalent of between 1.3 and 1.8 kilotons of TNT, with a blast wave spreading up to 200 miles.
Another estimate by George William Herbert of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California, was that the blast was consistent with 200-240 tons of high explosives detonating, Reuters reported.
Screen grab via social media
As of Wednesday afternoon, around 30,000 tons of shells had exploded or were still exploding and the fire was ongoing, according to reports.
A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) source told the Kyiv Independent that Ukrainian drones had “literally wiped off the face of the earth a large warehouse of the main missile and artillery department” used by Moscow’s war machine.
The source added that similar attacks on other Russian military facilities are planned as Ukraine “continues to methodically reduce the missile potential of the enemy.”
Without directly claiming responsibility, Ukraine has stepped up its attacks deep inside Russian territory, targeting military facilities critical to Moscow’s war effort. In a statement to Newsweek, the Ukrainian defense ministry said “we do not comment on what is happening in Russia.”
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
The depot in Tver reportedly contained North Korean KN23 ballistic missiles, missiles for Grad multiple rocket launcher systems and S-300 air defense systems, as well as Iskander ballistic missiles.
Social media users posted about the scale of the explosions.
“The ammunition warehouse in Toropets, Tver region, in Russia has been turned into volcanic region. It is still exploding,” posted X user (((Tendar))) “absolutely spectacular view and possibly the biggest single event of that kind in this war.”
The ammunition warehouse in Toropets, Tver region, in Russia has been turned into volcanic region. It is still exploding. Absolutely spectacular view and possibly the biggest single event of that kind in this war.
Source: Telegram / Sternenko pic.twitter.com/9tdkYDgmp3
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) September 18, 2024
“The main explosion looks like a nuclear bomb went off,” posted pro-Ukrainian X user KremlinTrolls, “extraordinary achievement, and possibly one of the biggest set of detonations of the war so far.”
Ukrainian drones hit a massive Russian ammunition storage facility in Toropets, Tver region, about 800km from the Ukrainian border.
The main explosion looks like a nuclear bomb went off. Extraordinary achievement, and possibly one of the biggest set of detonations of the war so… pic.twitter.com/LbAdZm2yTk
— KT “Special CIA Operation” (@KremlinTrolls) September 18, 2024
NASA satellites picked up intense heat sources over an area of about five square miles at the site and monitoring stations detected a small earthquake in the area, according to Reuters.
Russian government newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta reported that the arsenal had been built in 2015 for 3.6 billion rubles ($39 million) as part of a program to improve the storage system for missiles, ammunition and explosives.
Former Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov had said in 2018 that the facility could withstand missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges that he denies.
Tver Oblast Governor Igor Rudenya said on Telegram that a fire had broken out in Toropets caused by falling drone debris but claimed the situation was “under control.” He later announced an evacuation of part of the town’s population.
Tver was not mentioned in a Russian defense ministry report that 54 drones launched over five regions had been shot down overnight.
