WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian drone attack triggers earthquake-sized blast at arsenal in Russia's Tver region

A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered an earthquake-sized blast at a major arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of a nearby town, war bloggers and some media reported.

Unverified video and images on social media showed a huge ball of flame blasting into the night sky and multiple detonations thundering across a lake about 380 km (240 miles) west of Moscow.

NASA satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of about 14 square kilometres (5 square miles) at the site in the early hours and earthquake monitoring stations noted what sensors thought was a small earthquake in the area.

"The enemy hit an ammunition depot in the area of Toropets," said Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. "Everything that can burn is already burning there (and exploding)."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, hailed the outcome of the attack without referring specifically to the target.

"A very important result was achieved last night on Russian territory and such actions weaken the enemy," Zelenskiy said. "I thank everyone involved. Such precision is truly inspiring."

He thanked the SBU security service, the HUR intelligence service and the Special Operations Forces.

A source in Ukraine's SBU state security service had earlier told Reuters the drone attack had destroyed a warehouse storing missiles, guided bombs and artillery ammunition.

Russian state media have in the past reported that a major arsenal for conventional weapons was located at the site of the blasts. State media, now subject to military censorship laws, was muted in its reporting on Wednesday.

Igor Rudenya, governor of the Tver region, said that Ukrainian drones had been shot down, that a fire had broken out and that some residents were being evacuated. He did not say what was burning.

One woman told Reuters that members of her family had been evacuated from Toropets.

"A fire started with explosions," said the woman, who identified herself only as Irina.

Rudenya later said the situation in Toropets was stable as of midday local time (0900 GMT) and that evacuated residents could return. The fire had been put out and there were no recorded fatalities, he said.

Russia and Ukraine each reported dozens of enemy drone attacks on their territory overnight, with Russian forces advancing in eastern Ukraine.

MAJOR EXPLOSION

The size of the main blast shown in the unverified social media video was consistent with 200-240 tons of high explosives detonating, said 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 flooded with messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help to people fleeing the town.

Some people were asking whether buildings at specific addresses were still standing.

"People, does anyone know what's 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 4.5 km (2.8 miles) northeast of Toropets.

Some war bloggers asked how drones could trigger such large blasts at what was thought to be a highly fortified facility.

According to an RIA state news agency report from 2018, Russia was building an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets, a 1,000-year-old town, with a population of just over 11,000.

Dmitry Bulgakov, then a deputy defence minister, told RIA in 2018 that the facility could defend weapons from missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.

"It (the concrete facilities) ensures their reliable and safe storage, protects 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 on chat groups expressed anger.

"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 defence units had destroyed 54 drones launched against five Russian regions overnight, without mentioning Tver. Ukraine said it had shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow overnight and that Russia had used three guided air missiles which did not reach their targets.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces advance on key Ukrainian supply hub – media

The Russian military has liberated the Donbass town of Ukrainsk, RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday, citing a source within the security forces. The news agency also said it had obtained photos of Russian soldiers raising a flag over a mine located on the western outskirts of the town.

The nation’s defense ministry has not commented on the development so far. It did not even mention Ukrainsk in its latest daily report on the situation on the frontlines. The town was mentioned in the ministry’s previous update, published on Monday, where it said that Moscow’s troops continued their offensive in the area, pushing Kiev’s troops away from their defensive positions and moving forward.

A town with a population of around 10,500 people, Ukrainsk is located about four kilometers away from the railroad junction of Tsukurikha, which, according to RIA, is used by Kiev to supply “a significant part” of its troops in Donbass.

According to the defense ministry’s data, the Russian forces repelled eight Ukrainian counterattacks in the area. Kiev lost up to 475 soldiers as well as five artillery pieces, including the US-made M777 howitzer during the fights at this part of the front over the past 24 hours.

Ukrainsk and the nearby town of Selidovo have become an arena of intense fighting over the past week as Russian forces continue to expand their zone of control to the west and southwest of Avdeevka – a key Donbass town taken by Moscow’s troops early this year. The Russian forces are now moving closer to the city of Pokrovsk, which is one of the key logistics hubs supplying the Ukrainian forces still remaining in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Earlier, the defense ministry reported that the nation’s military had liberated eight settlements in the Donetsk People’s Republic in the week between September 7 and 13.

The developments come as Ukrainian forces still try to retain some control over Russia’s Kursk border region. Kiev sent thousands of troops across its northern border with Russia in August. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky touted the operation as part of a “victory plan” he intends to submit to the US government for consideration.

The Russian military started a major push to drive Ukrainian forces away from the area over the past weeks. Last week, Moscow reported liberating ten settlements in the Kursk Region. On Monday, the defense ministry reported liberating another two villages. Ukrainian casualties in the incursion reached 13,800, according to the ministry’s latest estimates.

Reuters/RT