Ukraine drone attack in Russia sparks fire

BBC:

Thirteen people have been injured in Russia’s Tver region after a large Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire there, according to the Russian health ministry.

Unverified footage has emerged purportedly showing a massive blast in the town of Toropets. Video footage circulating on social media showed detonations and smoke covering a large stretch of sky.

A partial evacuation of the region was ordered after the strike in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The regional governor later encouraged residents to return, saying that all infrastructure in the town was working normally again.

AFP and Reuters news agencies have quoted Ukrainian sources as saying a major ammunitions depot had been struck.

The military site reportedly housed fuel tanks, as well as artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and explosives, in a series of warehouses. These are all weapons that have been used in Russia’s relentless full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This latest attack by Ukraine is the kind it has been wanting to carry out with missiles supplied by its western allies. However, in the absence of approval from the US and UK, it has once again hit Russian targets with drones it has made itself.

The target this time, though, is significant. A military arsenal, worth almost £30m ($39m), has seemingly gone up in a series of explosions. Nasa reported a series of heat sources from satellite imagery.

A light-magnitude earthquake was even reported in the surrounding Tver region.

The head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, said on Telegram that in addition to its own ammunition, including Grad rockets, Russia had also started to store North Korean missiles in Toropets.

None of these claims have been verified by the BBC.

Without naming any specific targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video address late on Wednesday: “There is a significant outcome from last night on the territory of Russia, and this is the type of action that weakens the enemy.

“I thank all those involved. Such inspiring precision.”

Toropets lies about 380km (236 miles) north-west of Russia’s capital Moscow, and some 470km north of the border with Ukraine.