Ukrainian drones strike Russian ammo depot, causing tremors and evacuations

Sources in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed to AFP that Ukrainian drones destroyed an ammunition depot in the Tver region in western Russia. The strength of the explosions was so great that they were visible in NASA satellite images and caused a minor earthquake.

The depot in Toropets, where ballistic missiles and guided bombs, among other things, were stored, was destroyed in a drone attack. Social media was flooded with numerous videos and photos showing explosions, fire, and plumes of smoke.

NASA even recorded the massive explosion, and tools measuring tectonic plate movements indicated tremors with a magnitude of 2.8 on the Richter scale. These are tremors felt by a small group of people, and their occurrence confirms that the Russians were storing large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in these depots.

The Ukrainian side believed this attack would negatively impact Russia's offensive capabilities.

Local Russian authorities decided to evacuate the districts of Toropets located near the military site. Authorities in the Zapadnodvinsky district, bordering the Toropetsky district, also announced power outages and a switch to online mode in schools and kindergartens.

According to information provided by the British newspaper "The Telegraph," the destroyed ammunition depot could have contained, among other things, North Korean missiles and Russian-guided bombs.

This most likely refers to the KN-23 ballistic missiles, which North Korea has been supplying to Russia since the beginning of this year. Each of them measures 25 feet in length and 3 feet in diameter. It stands out with a weight of 7,500 pounds, of which about 1,100 pounds are allocated to the warhead. Some sources indicate that the destroyed depots also contained similar missiles manufactured in Russia for the Iskander systems. These have similar dimensions (over 23 feet in length and about 3 feet in diameter).