Ukraine says it has ‘wiped off the face of the earth’ a key Russian missile and artillery arsenal in long-range strikes

• Ukrainian forces overnight deployed drones to attack a key arsenal in Russia’s Tver region.

• The attack destroyed a warehouse where ballistic missiles, artillery and bombs were stored.

• It is the latest long-range Ukrainian attack in Russia.

Ukrainian forces attacked a key Russian ammunition depot overnight with long-range drones, destroying missiles, bombs and artillery.

A source in Ukraine’s Security Service told Business Insider on Wednesday that the attack targeted a large warehouse in the city of Toropets, in Russia’s western Tver region. The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operations.

The source said the warehouse belonged to the Main Missile and Artillery Division of the Russian Defense Ministry, adding that Moscow was storing Iskander and Tochka ballistic missilesartillery ammunition and bombs at the location.

The drone strike appeared to cause powerful explosions, setting the area ablaze and forcing locals to evacuate. The warehouse was “literally wiped off the face of the earth,” the source said, according to a translation of their comments.

Images of a huge fireball and plumes of smoke circulated on social media on Wednesday morning in Toropets, located north of Ukraine, near the Russia-Belarus border.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify the video footage.

“The SBU, together with its colleagues from the Armed Forces, continues to systematically reduce the enemy’s missile potential, with which it destroys Ukrainian cities,” the SBU source said, adding that “we continue to work on organizing a similar ‘picture’ at other Russian military facilities working on the war against Ukraine.”

Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies of the facility before and after the Ukrainian attack showed extensive damage to the site and highlighted the ensuing fire.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday it had shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones, but did not specify where.

A former Ukrainian military officer, who goes by the social media handle Tatarigami, called the attack on Toropets “a very significant achievement.”

“We are likely looking at the loss of thousands of tons of explosive materials, grenades and rockets,” they wrote in a after on X. “In events of this magnitude, replacement cannot occur quickly.”

The attack marks Ukraine’s latest long-range strike targeting a key military installation in Russia. Key air bases have also affected in the past few weeks.

Ukraine is prohibited from using its arsenal of powerful Western-supplied missiles to invade Russia, so the country has relied heavily on domestically produced attack drones to circumvent these restrictions.

However, Kiev has long argued that such restrictions limit the country’s ability to combat Russia most effectively, and continues to push for their abolition.

“The only way to counter (Russian) terrorism is with a systemic solution, and that solution is long-range weapons,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nationwide speech over the weekend.

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