Massive Russian Weapons Depot Still Burning After Ukrainian Drone Attack

A huge explosion has rocked the Tver region, in the west of Russia, after Ukrainian long-range attack drones targeted a sprawling ammunition depot there. Videos and pictures on social media from the scene show an initial explosion, with a very large fireball, followed by a significant visible shockwave, further explosions in the vicinity, and then several minutes’ worth of secondary explosions illuminating the night sky. Fires were still burning the day after the attacks.

Such was the power of the detonation that a light-magnitude earthquake was reported in the Tver region, registering at 2.8 on the Richter scale.

The target was a massive ammunition depot in the town of Toropets, around 236 miles northwest of Moscow, and roughly 300 miles north of the border with Ukraine. The town has around 13,000 residents.

A source in Ukraine’s SBU state security service confirmed that Ukrainian drones had caused an “extremely powerful detonation,” The Telegraph reported. Meanwhile, Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, acknowledged the attack, sharing a video of the explosion, commenting: “The demilitarisation of Russia is necessary to end terror.”

Meanwhile, Igor Rudenya, the governor of the Tver region, ordered a partial evacuation of the population of Toropets and described a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack.

Rudenya said that the emergency services in Toropets were trying to “localize” a blaze that he said was caused by falling drone wreckage. He did not say whether there were any casualties, nor how many people were being evacuated, although there are reports that they are being taken in buses to Zapadnaya Dvina, in the same region.

According to Russian state media, regional schools and kindergartens will be closed today, while there have also been reports of power outages in parts of the Tver region.

On Russian social media channels, residents of Toropets posted photos and videos showing windows blown out and scorch marks on walls, while others described the complete destruction on local online chat groups described villages closer to the ammunition dump being completely destroyed.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the country came under attack from dozens of Ukrainian drones last night and that 54 of these were supposedly shot down over different Russian regions. However, the ministry did not mention the Tver region, with only Bryansk, Kursk, Oryol, Smolensk, and Belgorod being specified.

Ukrainian sources quoted by the AFP and Reuters news agencies confirmed that an ammunition warehouse was struck. The military facility reportedly included multiple warehouses for ballistic missiles, Grad rockets, artillery shells, and other explosives, as well as fuel tanks. Other accounts state that guided bombs, artillery, and S-400 air defense missiles were also stored there.

Earlier reports describe an ammunition storage facility being built in Toropets in 2018, for missiles, ammunition, and explosives. According to Russian Gen. Dmitry Bulgakov, the then deputy minister of defense, the facility met “the highest international standards.”

“The arsenal in Toropets allows us to shelter reserves of missiles and ammunition from external influences and ensure their safety and fire and explosion safety,” Bulgakov said at the time.

The site covers an area of around two square miles, with an outside perimeter of roughly seven miles.

Intriguingly, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, said on Telegram that the facility in Toropets was also being used to store ballistic missiles supplied to Russia by North Korea.

While this hasn’t been independently verified, North Korean short-range ballistic missiles have been used by Russia since at least December 30, 2023. Although they make up only a very small fraction of the weapons used in Russian strikes on Ukraine, there has long been concern about the burgeoning military relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, recently placed North Korea at the top of the list of countries that provided the most military support to Russia, saying that “North Korea would be first, then there is no one for a long time, and then everyone else.”

According to Russian reports, Toropets has been previously attacked, in May and June of this year.

With Kyiv’s Western partners still refusing to allow the use of long-range weapons they have supplied to hit targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine has continued to make use of domestically produced one-way attack drones instead.

The developing capabilities of its one-way attack drones have allowed Ukraine to strike targets at distances of more than 1,000 miles in the past.

While long-range Ukrainian attacks against targets within Russian borders have had an important morale-boosting role, the campaign of drone strikes has increasingly concentrated on key energy infrastructure and military targets. With that in mind, the apparent level of destruction in Toropets should also have a positive impact for Ukraine both on the battlefield and as it seeks to defend itself against Russian long-range strikes.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com