Ukraine's major victory: Targeting a Russian ammo dump

Ukraine delivered a significant blow to the Russian war effort on September 17th by launching a large-scale drone attack on a storage facility deep within Russia. According to some sources, the strike may have caused a substantial loss of weapons for Moscow.

According to a report from Forbes, the attack focused on a storage facility in the town of Toropets, which is home to the 107th Arsenal. BBC News reported the facility is 380 km or roughly 236 miles northwest of Russia’s border with Ukraine. 

The 107th Arsenal is a large ammunition dump that has been feeding Russian forces in Ukraine according to David Axe of Forbes and a rather large concentration of munitions is what prompted Kyiv to launch its drone attack on Russia. 

Photo Credit: European Space Agency, Copernicus via Defense Express

Axe reported that the Ukrainian outlet RBC-Ukraine noted more than 100 drones were used in the attack, which potentially made it the largest Ukrainian attack on Russia since Moscow ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

What exactly was being stored at the 107th Arsenal isn’t public knowledge. However, the founder of the Ukrainian open-source intelligence group Frontelligence Insight provided some analysis of the munitions that would have been stored at the facility.  

The Russian arsenal at Toropets could have been storing mortar bombs, rocket artillery, and rifle ammunition. However, there could have been more powerful Russian weapons being housed at the 107th Arsenal, including a lot of ballistic missiles. 

“Without exaggeration, this is a very significant achievement,” Frontelligence Insight explained according to Forbes. “We’re likely looking at the loss of thousands of tons of explosive materials, shells, and rockets.”

Photo Credit: European Space Agency, Copernicus via Defense Express

An unnamed but senior official from the Security Service of Ukraine told several media outlets, including Politico, that the Russians were storing a variety of different weapons and ballistic missiles at the ammunition dump in Toropets. 

“Russians store missiles for tactical missile complexes Iskander, Tochka-U, as well as other anti-aircraft missiles, glided bombs, and artillery munition in that warehouse. They used those munitions to attack Ukraine,” the official claimed. 

“After our drones arrived at their destination an extremely powerful detonation began. Locals were wondering if that was a nuclear bomb blast or not,” the official added. “Now there’s a fire burning on a six-kilometer-wide area.”

Photo Credit: Telegram @vchkogpu

The unnamed official's remarks were also reported on by The Kyiv Independent, which noted the official said Ukraine “literally wiped off the face of the Earth a large warehouse of the main missile and artillery department of the Russian Defense Ministry.”

Photo Credit: Telegram @vchkogpu

Video footage of the incident of the explosion described by the Ukrainian security official has made its way online, and it does show an explosion on the scale they described. A massive fire also broke out as a result of the attack according to some sources. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @vchkogpu

The Washington Post reported that “satellite images showed extensive fires over what appeared to be a complex of bunkers in the town.”

The American news outlet also added that NASA’s Fire Information for Resource (FIRMS) Management System showed the 107th Arsenal was affected by multiple fires on the morning of September 18th. 

Photo Credit: NASA via X @Tendar

"A very important result was achieved last night on Russian territory and such actions weaken the enemy," Zelenskiy said about the attack in one of his nightly addresses to the Ukraine people according to Reuters. "I thank everyone involved. Such precision is truly inspiring."

BBC News reported that the ammunition storage facility at Toropets was worth roughly $39 million dollars. However, the real blow to Russia was likely the weapons destroyed inside and the propaganda loss it would suffer after such a successful attack in Russia. 

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