A massive Ukrainian drone assault on Russia led to an earthquake-like explosion at a significant arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, prompting the evacuation of a nearby town, according to war bloggers and some media reports. Unverified videos and images circulating on social media depicted a colossal fireball soaring into the night sky, accompanied by multiple detonations echoing across a lake approximately 380 km west of Moscow. NASA satellites detected intense heat sources emanating from an area of about 14 sqkm at the site in the early hours, while earthquake monitoring stations recorded what sensors interpreted as a minor earthquake in the region.
"The enemy struck an ammunition depot in the Toropets area," stated Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. "Everything that can burn is already burning (and exploding) there." Russian state media had previously reported the presence of a major conventional weapons arsenal at the site of the blasts. However, under military censorship laws, state media was notably restrained in its coverage on Wednesday. Igor Rudenya, the governor of the Tver region, confirmed that Ukrainian drones had been shot down, a fire had erupted, and some residents were being evacuated. He did not specify what was burning.
One woman informed Reuters that her family members had been evacuated from Toropets. "A fire started with explosions," said the woman, who identified herself only as Irina. Rudenya later announced that the situation in Toropets was stable by midday local time (0900 GMT) and that evacuated residents could return. The fire had been extinguished, and there were no recorded fatalities, he added. A source within Ukraine's SBU state security service revealed to Reuters that the drone attack had obliterated a warehouse containing missiles, guided bombs, and artillery ammunition. The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond.
Both Russia and Ukraine reported numerous enemy drone attacks on their territories overnight, with Russian forces making advances in eastern Ukraine. The main blast shown in the unverified social media video was estimated to be equivalent to the detonation of 200-240 tons of high explosives, according to 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 inundated with messages of support from other regions and offers of assistance to those fleeing the town. Some users inquired about the status of specific buildings.
"People, does anyone know what happened to Kudino village??? They told me nothing is left of our house," posted one woman. Another woman replied: "It's horror there." Kudino is a village located 4.5 km northeast of Toropets. Some war bloggers questioned how drones could trigger such massive explosions at what was believed to be a heavily fortified facility. According to a 2018 report by RIA state news agency, Russia was constructing an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition, and explosives in Toropets, a town with a history dating back over 1,000 years and a population of just over 11,000.
Dmitry Bulgakov, then a deputy defense minister, told RIA in 2018 that the facility could safeguard weapons from missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies. "The concrete facilities ensure their reliable and safe storage, protect 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 in chat groups expressed outrage. "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 specifically mentioning Tver. Ukraine claimed it had shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow overnight and that Russia had used three guided air missiles that failed to reach their targets.
