Ukrainian drone attack sparks massive blast at arsenal in Russia
Al Jazeera
Giant fireball sees authorities order partial evacuation of the town of Toropets in Tver region, northwest of Moscow.
A Ukrainian drone attack targeting an armoury has caused a giant fireball, leading to a partial evacuation in western Russia.
The attack, reported early on Wednesday, targeted a large arsenal close to the town of Toropets, some 400km (250 miles) northwest of Moscow in the Tver region. It illustrates Ukraine’s continued effort to show it can strike at targets deep inside Russia.
The drone attack caused an “extremely powerful detonation” and destroyed a large warehouse of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defence and sparked a fire 6km (3.7 miles) wide, an unnamed source from the Ukrainian security services said.
“The warehouse contained missiles intended for Iskander tactical missile systems, Tochka-U tactical missile systems, guided aerial bombs and artillery ammunition,” the source told news wires.
Without mentioning the attack on Tver, Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defence units had destroyed 54 Ukrainian-launched drones targeting five western Russian regions overnight, according to state news agencies.
