A suspected Ukrainian drone attack on an ammunition depot in Russia's Tver region is being described on social media as one of the most significant events of the war initiated by Vladimir Putin. Unverified images circulating online show a massive fireball following the strike on the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) arsenal in Toropets, roughly 240 miles west of Moscow, around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Footage captures numerous subsequent explosions.
Ukrainian internal affairs advisor Anton Gerashchenko shared on X that the explosion might have had a yield equivalent to 1.3 to 1.8 kilotons of TNT, with a blast wave felt up to 200 miles away. Another estimate from George William Herbert of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies suggested that around 200-240 tons of high explosives had detonated, according to a Reuters report.
As of Wednesday afternoon, reports indicated that approximately 30,000 tons of ammunition had either exploded or continued to detonate, with the fire still raging. A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) source told *The Kyiv Independent* that Ukrainian drones had effectively "wiped off the face of the earth" a key warehouse for Russia’s missile and artillery department. The source added that similar attacks on other Russian military sites are planned as Ukraine systematically targets the missile capabilities of its adversary.
While not directly claiming responsibility, Ukraine has intensified its strikes deep into Russian territory, focusing on military installations critical to Moscow's war efforts. In a statement to *Newsweek*, Ukraine’s defense ministry commented that "we do not comment on what is happening in Russia."
The Tver depot reportedly housed North Korean KN23 ballistic missiles, Grad multiple rocket launcher systems, S-300 air defense systems, and Iskander ballistic missiles. Social media users posted about the scale of the destruction, with one user calling it a "volcanic region" still erupting with explosions, while another likened the main blast to a nuclear detonation.
NASA satellites detected intense heat over an area spanning five square miles, and monitoring stations picked up a small earthquake in the region, according to Reuters. Russian state newspaper *Rossiskaya Gazeta* reported that the arsenal was constructed in 2015 for 3.6 billion rubles ($39 million) as part of an initiative to improve storage for missiles, ammunition, and explosives. Former Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov had previously claimed that the facility could withstand missile strikes and even a small nuclear blast; however, he was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.
Tver Oblast Governor Igor Rudenya confirmed on Telegram that a fire had broken out in Toropets due to drone debris but insisted the situation was "under control." He later ordered the evacuation of part of the town. Notably, the Tver strike was not mentioned in a Russian defense ministry report, which claimed that 54 drones had been shot down across five regions overnight.
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