An ammunition depot in Toropets, Tver Oblast, Russia, was struck by drones overnight into 18 September, resulting in a fire and multiple explosions.
Local residents reported hearing the distinctive sound of drones followed by explosions, according to Russian Telegram channels.
The governor of Tver Oblast, Igor Rudenya, announced a partial evacuation of the population in response to the incident. Rudenya said that the fire started “as a result of falling fragments of UAVs during the repulsion of an attack by air defense forces,” without specifying the target of the attack.
The BBC’s Ukrainian Service reports that a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed Ukrainian drones had “liquidated a warehouse” containing Iskander and Tochka-U missiles, as well as guided aerial bombs, in the Tver Oblast.
The attacked site in Toropets may be linked to a military facility constructed in 2018. Then, then-Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said that the “Arsenal of complex storage of missiles, ammunition, and explosives” met “the highest world standards.” Bulgakov had also said that each storage unit in the arsenal could hold up to 240 tons of ammunition.
Russian authorities have not confirmed an explosion at the ammunition depot. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported shooting down 54 drones over various oblasts overnight but did not mention the Tver Oblast in its statement.
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