Ukraine-Russia war live: Mass drone attack on Russian arms depot sparks huge fire as war casualties reach 1m
Massive explosion at ammo depot forces evacuations and closure of schools in western Russia
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A “massive” Ukrainian drone attack on an arms depot in Russia’s Tver region which sparked huge fires and caused a blast picked up by earthquake monitors has led to evacuations, power cuts and school closures.
The attack caused an “extremely powerful detonation” at a Russian defence ministry warehouse in the 1,000-year-old town of Toropets, containing Iskander and Tochka-U tactical missile systems, guided aerial bombs and artillery ammunition, a source in Ukraine’s SBU security service said.
Russian state media had suggested in 2018 that the site at the 1,000-year-old town of Toropets – which sits northwest of Moscow, and 65 miles from the Belarus border – was home to a major arsenal for conventional weaponry.
It came as fresh estimates from Western intelligence suggested the total number of casualties from Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine may have exceeded one million.
The figure includes 80,000 Ukrainian troops killed and 400,000 wounded, according to a confidential estimate from Kyiv reported by the Wall Street Journal. Estimates of Russian casualties vary but are expected to number around 200,000 killed and 400,000 wounded.
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Ukraine ‘used 100 domestically produced drones’ in Tver arms depot attack
More than 100 domestically produced exploding drones were deployed in the attack on the Russian arms depot in Tver, a Ukrainian intelligence official told the Associated Press.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti earlier quoted regional authorities as saying air defence systems were working to repel a “massive drone attack” on Toropets.
North Korean ammo ‘destroyed’ in Tver arms depot strike
Among the ammunition destroyed in the attack on the Tver arms depot were North Korean KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, a Ukrainian intelligence source has told the Associated Press.
Russia and North Korea signed a landmark pact in June that envisioned mutual military assistance between Moscow and Pyongyang.
UK Foreign Office summons Russian ambassador over expulsion of diplomats
The UK has summoned Russia’s ambassador following what it described as an “unprecedented and unfounded public campaign of aggression” by Moscow, including accusations against Foreign Office staff.
Russia’s FSB security service said last week it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow after accusing them of spying and sabotage work, accusations Britain described as “malicious and completely baseless”.
“This pattern of behaviour is completely unacceptable, deeply unprofessional, and beneath the standards of conduct between states,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Office said, calling on Russia to “stop this activity immediately”.
“This is the latest development in a deliberate campaign by Russia to undermine and threaten UK security and democracy and deter our support for Ukraine, through disinformation, acts of sabotage in Europe and direct harassment and restrictions against our diplomatic missions in Russia,” they added.
Nasa satellites pick up intense heat as Tver blast sparks vast fires
Nasa satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of about five square miles at the site of the blast in Russia’s Tver region, while earthquake monitoring stations picked up what sensors thought was a small earthquake in the area.
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Lessons from Ukraine’s Black Sea fight help US Navy prepare for possible conflict with China
The US Navy is taking lessons from its combat in the Red Sea over the past year and what Ukraine has done to hold off the Russians in the Black Sea to help US military leaders prepare the service for a potential future conflict with China.
From drones and unmanned surface vessels to the more advanced operation of ship-board guns, the Navy is expanding its combat skills and broadening training. It is also working to overcome recruiting struggles so it can have the sailors it needs to fight the next war.
Admiral Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, is laying out a series of goals, including several that will be highly challenging to meet, in a new navigation plan she described in an interview with The Associated Press. The objective is to be ready to face what the Pentagon calls its key national security challenge – China.
“I’m very focused on 2027. It’s the year that that President Xi told his forces to be ready to invade Taiwan,” Ms Franchetti said. “We need to be more ready.”
Pictured: Ukrainian drone attack ‘hits Russian arms depot'
Social media chatroom describes ‘horror’ in Tver after arms depot blast
A Toropets chatroom on the Russian social media site VK was flooded with messages of support from other parts of the country and offers of help to people fleeing the town.
Some people were asking whether buildings at specific addresses were still standing.
“People, does anyone know what’s happened to Kudino village??? They told me nothing is left of our house,” posted one woman.
Another woman replied: “It’s horror there.” Kudino is a village 4.5 km (2.8 miles) northeast of Toropets.
Footage of Tver blast appears consistent with 200 tonnes of explosives detonating, expert suggests
The size of the main blast shown in unverified social media footage of the blast at the Tver arms depot was consistent with 200-240 tonnes of high explosives detonating, George William Herbert of the California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies told Reuters.
Russian minister claimed in 2018 that Tver arms depot was impervious to nuclear attack
According to an RIA state news agency report from 2018, Russia was building an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets – the site of the mass Ukrainian drone attack.
Dmitry Bulgakov, then a deputy defence minister, told RIA in 2018 that the facility could defend weapons from missiles and even a small nuclear attack. Bulgakov was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges, which he denies.
“It [the concrete facilities] ensures their reliable and safe storage, protects them from air and missile strikes and even from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion,” RIA quoted Mr Bulgakov as saying at the time.
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