Top 3 Points: The Ukrainian military conducted a long-range drone strike on the Toropets strategic ammunition depot in Russia's Tver region, approximately 310 miles from the frontlines.

-The attack destroyed one of Russia's largest ammunition facilities, which likely housed North Korean artillery shells and munitions for frontline use, including missiles and glide bombs.

-The explosion registered as a 2.7-magnitude earthquake and caused fires over a six-kilometer area. Despite Russia's claims of shooting down over 50 Ukrainian drones, the depot was destroyed due to poor munitions storage, leading to cascading detonations.

Ukraine Targets Russian Ammo Depot, Sparks 2.7-Magnitude Quake

The Ukrainian military continues with its long-range attacks against high-value targets inside Russia.

The latest attack destroyed one of the biggest ammunition depots of the Russian military, which also likely housed North Korean munitions.  

The explosion was so large that it caused a mild earthquake.

Ukrainian Drone Attack Causes an Earthquake in Russia

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military launched a suicide drone against the Toropets strategic ammunition depot. Located in Russia’s Tver region, the ammunition depot is approximately 310 miles (500 kilometers) from the frontlines in Ukraine.

According to the British Military Intelligence’s latest assessment, the Toropets ammo depot “is a storage site of the 107th Arsenal of the Russian Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, and almost certainly housed munitions of varying calibers for frontline use, as well as missiles and glide bombs used by nearby airfields.”

It is also very likely that the ammunition facility stored artillery shells purchased from North Korea. Pyongyang has sold millions of artillery shells to Moscow.

“The explosion at Toropets was recorded at 2.7 on the Richter scale, equivalent to a mild earthquake, with fires covering a 6km-wide area. It is highly likely that poor storage of munitions, left vulnerable to OWA UAVs [one-way attack uncrewed ariel vehicles], caused a chain reaction of cascading detonations within the bunker systems, resulting in enormous losses of ordnance,” the British Military Intelligence added.

Despite the regular fanfare about its air defense capabilities, the Russian military once again failed to prevent the destruction of an important military target. Moscow claimed that it shot down over 50 Ukrainian suicide drones in the attack, but clearly, that wasn’t enough.  The Ukrainian military has been targeting Russian air defense capabilities for months now. And the results are slowly becoming apparent.

“Renovated in 2018, this is one of Russia’s largest strategic ammunition depots directly supporting its operation in Ukraine, storing more than 30,000 tonnes of ordnance,” the British Military Intelligence stated.

“Recent improvements to the site had been driven by previous poor storage of aging explosive material leading to a series of explosions across several depots,” the British Military Intelligence added.

During one such event 13 years ago, more than 3,000 houses were damaged and 30,000 people were forced to leave their homes.

While Kyiv is still waiting for the green light to use its Western-provided munitions against targets in Russia, the Ukrainian forces are employing home-made missiles and suicide drones to great effect. However, the Ukrainian military needs to be able to use its MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), Storm Shadow, and SCALP-EG air-launched cruise missiles against targets in Russia.

The United States, France, and the United Kingdom restrict the use of these munitions against targets inside Russia out of fear of causing an escalation with Moscow.

However, with the war approaching 1,000 days and over 1 million casualties on both sides, the fear of escalation should no longer govern decisions of military support for Ukraine. Time and again, this approach has proven to be wrong, giving the Kremlin precious time and costing Ukrainian lives.  

About the Author: 

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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