On the night of 17–18 September 2024, during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) 107th arsenal ammunition depot in Toropets, causing a massive series of explosions and fires and shattering of windows across nearby towns.[4][5] The main explosion caused a 82m-wide crater[6] and a seismic wave of magnitude 2.5~2.8 on 18 September, 3:56am, local time.[1][7] Such supply chain disruption could reduce Russia's firepower in its war effort in Ukraine.[8]
Following more than two years of war, Ukraine recently moved the conflict into Russian territories. On 6 August 2024, Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk Oblast. Ukraine also argues with allies providing weapons for longer range munitions and the right to use them deeper into Russia[9][1] with the purposes of attacking legitimate military targets used by Russia to attack Ukraine and putting political pressure on Putin.[10] Claimed by Ukraine[1] and led with domestically-manufactured airborne drones, this strike would aim at normalizing such in-depth attacks in order to ease allies' stances.[9] Ukrainian representatives stated that more attacks of this kind are expected in order to “methodically” reduce Russia’s missile potential.[1]
Target
Euronews reported that the military ammunition depot had been renovated in 2018, and that the Russian deputy defense minister claimed that "the site met the 'highest international standards' and could defend against weapons such as missiles and 'even a small nuclear attack.'"[11] Euronews also reported that approximately 30,000 tonnes of military munitions were stored at the facility, including "fuel tanks, as well as missiles intended for Iskander and Tochka-U missile systems, guided aerial bombs and assorted artillery ammunition... Russia had also started to store North Korean munitions in Toropets."[12]NBC reported that KAB missiles were also stored at the facility.[11]
On 22 September 2024, media reported that Ukrainian drones had struck a second ammunition depot located south of Toropets, again causing a large fire.[17]
Explosions
NASA FIRMS imagery from 21 September 2024 showing the newer, extensive fire south of Toropets with first detections at 00:18:00 (UTC) and the still ongoing fire from the first attack east of Toropets
The attack resulted in multiple secondary explosions, the largest being an earthquake-magnitude blast.[18] The blast wave spread up to 200 mi (320 km) and was estimated to have a TNT equivalent of either 200 to 240 tons or 1.3 to 1.8 kilotons of high-explosives.[2][18][11] Resulting fires were detected from NASA's fire monitoring systems as covering an area of approximately 13 km2 (5 sq mi).[18]
Consequences
Igor Rudenya, governor of Tver Oblast, announced a partial evacuation of the town but that there were no serious injuries nor fatalities.[5][14][15][16] Russian officials later reported that 13 people had been injured.[3]
However, according to pro–Russian milblogger Anastasia Kashevarova, hundreds of Russians may have been killed in the strike, with the facility's utility block alone accommodating 200 people.[19]
On 20 September, Colonel Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, estimated that the strike had caused 30,000 tonnes of munitions to explode, the size of which he equated to 750,000 shells, adding that the strike destroyed two to three months of Russia's ammunition supply. The depot reportedly stored not only artillery shells, but also Iskander missiles, Tochka-U ballistic missiles and glide bombs and it is unclear if his bomb damage assessment includes both missiles and artillery ammunition.[20]
