Russia reported that its air defense units had destroyed 54 drones launched against five Russian regions overnight, without mentioning Tver. Ukraine said it had shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow overnight and that Russia had used three guided air missiles which did not reach their targets.
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Russian defense units were reported to have destroyed 54 drones launched across five Russian regions, though Moscow did not mention any drone strikes over the Tver region, and it is unclear where the drone strikes levied by Ukraine originated.
The explosions at the arms depot are reported to have occurred in the town of Toropets, which is nearly 480 miles from Kursk in southwest Russia, where Ukrainian forces launched an invasion last month, and roughly 400 miles from Ukraine’s northernmost border with Russia.
Ukrainian servicemen operate a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on Aug. 12, 2024. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
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Ukraine has ramped up its attacks against Moscow in recent months by increasingly hitting targets against its homeland, and Kyiv has called on the U.S. and NATO allies to allow it to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to hit military targets deep inside Russia.
These strike bans have not been lifted, and it is unclear how Ukraine was able to target a top military site using drones without detection hundreds of miles into Russian territory.
Ukraine has ramped up its attacks against Moscow in recent months by increasingly hitting targets against its homeland, and Kyiv has called on the U.S. and NATO allies to allow it to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to hit military targets deep inside Russia.
These strike bans have not been lifted, and it is unclear how Ukraine was able to target a top military site using drones without detection hundreds of miles into Russian territory.
Unverified video and images on social media showed a huge ball of flame blasting high into the night sky and multiple detonations thundering across a lake about 380 km (240 miles) west of Moscow
Russian state media have in the past reported that a major arsenal for conventional weapons was located at the site of the blasts. State media, which is now subject to military censorship laws, was muted in its reporting on Wednesday.
Igor Rudenya, the governor of the Tver region, said that Ukrainian drones had been shot down, that a fire had broken out and that some residents were being evacuated. He did not say what was burning.
One woman told Reuters that members of her family had been evacuated from Toropets.
"A fire started with explosions," said the woman, who identified herself only as Irina.
Rudenya later said the situation in Toropets was stable as of midday local time (0900 GMT) and that evacuated residents could return. The fire had been put out and there were no recorded fatalities, he said.
Igor Rudenya, the governor of the Tver region, said that Ukrainian drones had been shot down, that a fire had broken out and that some residents were being evacuated. He did not say what was burning.
One woman told Reuters that members of her family had been evacuated from Toropets.
"A fire started with explosions," said the woman, who identified herself only as Irina.
Rudenya later said the situation in Toropets was stable as of midday local time (0900 GMT) and that evacuated residents could return. The fire had been put out and there were no recorded fatalities, he said.
- A source in Ukraine's SBU state security service told Reuters the drone attack had destroyed a warehouse storing missiles, guided bombs and artillery ammunition. There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian government.
- Russia and Ukraine each reported dozens of enemy drone attacks on their territory overnight, with Russian forces advancing in eastern Ukraine.
[1/4]Flames rise during an explosion, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Toropets, Tver region, Russia in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on September 18, 2024. Social Media/via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
The size of the main blast shown in the unverified social media video was consistent with 200-240 tons of high explosives detonating, said George William Herbert of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California.
A Toropets chatroom on the Russian social media site VK was flooded with messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help to people fleeing the town.
Some people were asking whether buildings at specific addresses were still standing.
"People, does anyone know what's happened to Kudino village??? They told me nothing is left of our house," posted one woman.
Another woman replied: "It's horror there."
Some war bloggers questioned how drones could trigger such large explosions at what was thought to be a highly fortified facility.
Dmitry Bulgakov, then a deputy defense minister, told RIA in 2018 that the facility could defend weapons from missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.
"It (the concrete facilities) ensures their reliable and safe storage, protects them from air and missile strikes and even from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion," RIA quoted Bulgakov as saying at the time.
Some Russians on chat groups expressed anger.
- "Why wasn't the ammunition underground?! What are you doing???? In Kudino, houses were blown away! Why is the forest burning and no one is there... What kind of negligence is this!!!!" one woman posted.
- Russia reported that its air defense units had destroyed 54 drones launched against five Russian regions overnight, without mentioning Tver.
- Ukraine said it had shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow overnight and that Russia had used three guided air missiles which did not reach their targets.
Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Lucy Papachristou, Mark Trevelyan and Tom Balmforth in London and Anastasiia Malenko in Kyiv; Additional reporting by Gerry Doyle in Singapore; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Michael Perry, Christian Schmollinger, William Maclean, Gareth Jones and Philippa Fletcher
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