Drone Strikes Trigger Explosions, Evacuations in Russia’s Tver Region

Ukrainian drone attacks sparked large fires and prompted a partial evacuation in northwestern Russia’s Tver region on Wednesday, following reports of a major strike on a Russian weapons stockpile.

“A fire started in Toropets, Tver region, as a result of falling debris from a drone that was repelled by air defense forces,” the Tver regional administration said early Wednesday. Toropets is home to more than 11,000 people.

Tver region Governor Igor Rudenya later ordered a “partial evacuation” near the fire site. While authorities did not specify the target of the attack, local officials urged residents not to share images of the aftermath on social media.

Despite these warnings, eyewitness videos posted on social media showed large explosions lighting up the night sky and continuing into the morning.

A NASA satellite image showed a concentrated set of fires east of Toropets, covering an area of 13 square kilometers (5.2 square miles) as of early Wednesday. The site corresponds with the location of the Russian Defense Ministry’s main missile and artillery directorate arsenal, situated 488 kilometers northeast of Ukraine’s border.

Kyiv has not officially commented on the drone strike. However, Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s center for countering disinformation, told RBC-Ukraine that the arsenal stored missiles for S-300, S-400 and Grad systems, as well as Iskander and North Korean-made KN24 missiles.

A well-known Ukrainian military commentator, who goes by the online alias Tatarigami, speculated that the strike in the Tver region likely resulted in the loss of “thousands of tons of explosive materials, shells and rockets.”

The Moscow Times could not immediately verify that claim.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that air defense forces shot down 54 Ukrainian drones over five regions overnight. It did not mention any drone attacks in the Tver region.