Destroyed Toropets warehouse storing Russian missiles was supposed to withstand “a nuclear explosion”

On the night to September 18, a Russian warehouse in Toropets, nearly 500 km from the Ukrainian border, was destroyed by Ukrainian forces using drones, according to videos posted on social networks.

This was a place where numerous weapons were stored, including Iskander, Grad, S-300, and S-400 missiles, as well as North Korean KN23 missiles, which were beginning to arrive in Russian warehouses. Same missiles that Putin’s invasion troops are using to strike Ukrainian cities.

The explosion of the stockpile in Russia triggered a magnitude 2.7 earthquake in the Toropets area.

According to Kyiv Independent, the construction of this warehouse is part of Russia’s 2012 government program to improve Russian missile, ammunition, and explosive storage. According to reports, the project incurred costs of approximately $980 million for the construction of 13 depots similar to the destroyed one.

The construction of the latter would have adhered to “all modern international safety standards.” In 2018, Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov stated that this was “safe and secure storage, protecting weapons from air and missile strikes and even damage from a nuclear explosion.”

The warehouse ultimately succumbed to the Ukrainian drone attack and multiple explosions, even triggering a magnitude 2.7 earthquake.

As is often the case in Russia, on paper and in terms of budget, it appeared to be robust and resilient to a nuclear attack. But it appeared to be false. It was eventually destroyed by long-range drones.

In July 2024, the Kremlin authorities arrested Bulgakov due to allegations of corruption. He was one of five top Defence Ministry officials arrested between April and July amid the change in the ministry’s leadership.

Igor Rudenya, the governor of Tver Oblast, reported that a fire occurred in Toropets as a result of the drone’s debris falling, but he assured that the situation was under control. An evacuation from Toropets to the neighboring settlements was ordered.

Russian authorities conceal the extent of damage in Toropets from the population. Rudenya did not specify the location of the drone crash or the damage it caused. Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry, in its report on nighttime drone attacks, did not mention the strikes against Tver Oblast.

Yet NASA satellites recorded a surge in thermal activity in Tver Oblast, where Russia’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate’s 107th arsenal is located. Later, satellite images, published by the journalist Christopher Miller, confirmed a huge fire on a large territory in the location of the warehouse.

The BBC Ukrainian Service‘s source in the SBU has reported that Ukrainian drones have destroyed a warehouse with Iskander missiles, Tochka-U missiles and corrective aerial bombs. Without specifically mentioning Toropets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the achievement of a “very important result” on Russian territory on Wednesday night.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces continue to employ long-range drones to hit strategic military targets deep into Russia and force the Russian regime to stop the war of aggression.