Estonian intelligence has reported Russia’s significant loss of ammunition following a Ukrainian drone strike on a storage facility in Toropets, Tver Oblast, in western Russia on 18 September, ERR reports. According to Col. Kiviselg, chief of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Intelligence Center, the attack resulted in the destruction of approximately 750,000 shells, equivalent to a 2-3 month supply for Russian forces.
Speaking to the media on 20 September 2024, Col. Kiviselg stated,
“30,000 tonnes of explosive ordnance were detonated, which means 750,000 shells. If we take the average battle rate, the Russian Federation has fired 10,000 rounds a week. So that’s two to three months’ supply of ammunition.”
Ukraine’s Tver ammo depot attack featuring jet drones lowers Russian threat to Baltics
The colonel emphasized the potential impact of this loss, saying,
“As a result of this attack, Russia has suffered losses in ammunition and we will see the impact of these losses on the front in the coming weeks.”
The EDF colonel also noted that the ammunition depot in Toropets had received additional supplies shortly before the attack.
“Additional ammunition, which had not yet been stored indoors, had been transported by train to the depot shortly before the attack took place. Following the attack, the ammunition in the yard detonated along with bunkers and storage depots,” he explained.
The Estonian intelligence chief’s estimate of Russian shell losses did not account for yesterday’s attacks on two additional ammunition depots: a missile storage facility in Oktyabrskii, south of Toropets, and another depot in Krasnodar Krai:
Massive drone assault targets Russian ammo depot and arsenal across multiple regions
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