Nuclear Bomb, Earthquake? Ukrainian Drones Trigger Massive Explosion at Russian Missile Depot

Last night, drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Main Directorate of Intelligence, and the Special Operations Forces targeted and destroyed a major warehouse belonging to the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the town of Toropets, Tver Oblast.

According to UNIAN, citing sources from the special services, the warehouse housed rockets intended for operational-tactical missile systems "Iskander," tactical missile complexes "Tochka-U," guided aerial bombs, and artillery ammunition. The Ukrainian drone strike triggered a massive explosion, leading local residents to speculate on social media about the possibility of a nuclear bomb being involved. The blast created a fire zone spanning 6 kilometers, prompting local authorities to initiate evacuation procedures for the affected population.

Russian media report that because of detonation at the 107th arsenal of GRAU in Toropets, an earthquake of 2.8 points was recorded, and windows were broken five kilometers away. This looks like a strike on a largest ammunitions warehouse during the full-scale war.

In 2017, the… https://t.co/E2zO1dJmMo pic.twitter.com/zM2B3G1DEI

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) September 18, 2024

An informed source within the SBU stated, "The SBU, along with our defense allies, continues to systematically diminish the enemy's missile capabilities, which are used to attack Ukrainian cities. We aim to replicate this impact on other Russian military facilities involved in the war against Ukraine."

The attack caused widespread damage in Toropets, leading Governor Igor Rudenia to order a partial evacuation of the town, with residents relocated to the nearby settlement of Zapadna Dvina. Moscow has attributed the fire to debris from a downed Ukrainian drone, but this explanation has been met with skepticism by pro-Russian military bloggers, who noted that the explosion was significant enough to be recorded as a magnitude 2.8 earthquake by seismic monitoring systems. Satellite images have shown the explosion's impact from space.

Russian Toropets in the Tver region was attacked by drones, hitting an ammunition depot, causing detonation. Local authorities announced a partial evacuation.

Reports suggest that around 30,000 tons of ammunition, including 122mm Grad rockets, 82mm mortar shells, and… pic.twitter.com/wtRxzYMtnk

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Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, reported that the Toropets warehouse was storing five types of missiles, including recently added North Korean KN-23s.