Blasts have ripped through two ammunition depots in Russia in suspected Ukrainian drone strikes, days after a site that fuels Moscow’s military machine had been hit in one of the biggest attacks of the war.
Without claiming direct responsibility, Ukraine has stepped up drone strikes on military facilities with attacks hitting targets deep inside Russia. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment on the latest incidents.
Video shared on the Astra Telegram channel purported to show explosions and fire overnight Friday at the ammunition depot in the village of Kamenny, Tikhoretsky district, in the southern Krasnodar region bordering Ukraine.
This screengrab from social media shows an explosion in Russia’s Krasnodar territory after a suspected drone strike on a military facility on September 20, 2024. Another drone strike took place in the Tver region, only days after one of the biggest UAV attacks of the war.
Screen grab via social media
Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram Ukraine had a carried out a “terrorist attack” and that while air defense and electronic warfare had “suppressed” two drones, the falling debris of one caused a fire that spread to explosive objects which detonated.
Residents of the village near the site have been evacuated and according to preliminary information, there were no casualties, he added.
Kondratyev did not specify where the explosions occurred, but Astra said they had hit the Tikhoretsk ammunition depot which The Washington Post reported in 2023 houses munitions from North Korea.
Drone strike on the main Russian artillery ammunition depot in the village of Kamenny, Tikhoretsky District, Krasnodar Krai. The destroyed depots here allegedly contained ammunition from North Korea.
Videos will probably surface soon where brave Russian generals talked about… pic.twitter.com/KGCIusVwC4
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) September 21, 2024
Further north in Russia, another ammunition depot was hit overnight Friday in the village of Oktyabrsky in the Tver region with NASA fire maps showing a large blaze in that area.
The site is near a weapons depot in Toropets, one of Russia’s largest arsenals, which was reportedly attacked by Ukrainian drones on Wednesday, causing a blast so big that it was registered as a small earthquake. Russian Telegram users said the site had been targeted to finish off whatever might be left there.
Meanwhile, pro-Ukrainian X users posted footage of Friday night’s blasts. “Ukrainian Forces have struck a large Russian ammo depot in the Tikhoretsky District of Krasnodar Krai in Russia over 300km [186 miles] from the frontline causing massive explosions tonight,” posted Ukraine Battle Map on X.
“Ukraine has also struck another ammo depot in Tver with several drones/missiles 460km [285 miles] inside Russia,” the post added.
“Spectacular explosion of the Tikhoretsk ammunition facility, Krasnodar region, in Russia,” posted pro-Ukrainian X account (((Tendar))). “The ammunition site is totally ablaze. Looks like Russia is losing its primary logistics hubs, one by one.”
There was no mention of the destruction in the update by the Russian Defense Ministry, which said that it had intercepted 101 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones over seven border regions.
Moscow has continued with repeated drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, including on Friday night when a missile on Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region killed three people and injured three others, according to local authorities.
The dead consisted of a 12-year-old boy, two women aged 75 and 79, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said. In addition, Russian attacks killed two people and injured 24 in the Donetsk and Kherson regions, according to local authorities.
