Reportage
Ukrainian soldiers celebrate a strategic win, the explosion of a Russian ammunition depot
'Look,' says one soldier, showing us a seismograph. 'It was such a big explosion that it caused an earthquake.'
Dima and his fellow soldiers are celebrating as they watch videos of the explosions at the Russian Toropets ammunition depot on their cell phones. They’re shouting for joy at seeing the sky over Russia's Tver region turn red from the vast fire that has engulfed the military base. They show us a photo in which one can see one of the windows of an apartment blown off its hinges, with the fire in the distance. It means that the blast wave was powerful enough to be felt over a distance of hundreds of yards.
According to the Ukrainian media, as Kostia reads to us from the Internet, “the depot housed Iskander and Tochka-U missiles, KAB gliding bombs, artillery shells and North Korean KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles.” “Look,” says another soldier, showing us a seismograph: “It was such a big explosion that it caused an earthquake!”
The enthusiasm of the Ukrainian military near Pokrovsk at the news is through the roof. Toropets is located 500 km north of the Ukrainian border and about 400 km from Moscow. According to a number of analysts, many of the missiles used by the Russian forces came from that depot. From the past press releases of Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, one can see that this depot has existed since at least 2018, when the then-deputy Defense Minister, Dmitry Bulgakov, mentioned it by name. Since 2022, however, Toropets has taken on a top-level strategic value. Located in the western military district of the Russian Federation, not far from major cities and the border with Belarus, the city has been trending as the most popular online search term all day long. The video showing the moment of the explosion, the red columns of fire in the distance and the ensuing inferno, “at least 6 km in size” according to the local press, has been viewed millions of times.
This was a strategic win for Ukraine, which immediately claimed it: “Drones launched by the Security Service (SBU), GUR defense intelligence, and Special Operations Forces destroyed a large warehouse of the Russian MoD’s main missile and artillery department in the settlement of Toropets, Tver region,” Ukrinform reported. The attack was reportedly carried out with 100 drones launched simultaneously against the warehouse. There was such a high density of explosive materials being stored – some speak of 30,000 tons of ammunition – that it might have been enough to hit even one of the warheads. The fact remains that the detonation caused a 2.5° earthquake.
The governor of the Tver region, Igor Roudenia, ordered a “partial evacuation of the population” and said 13 people were lightly injured. Civilians were allowed to return to their homes in the afternoon. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that another 54 Ukrainian drones headed over the neighboring regions of Bryansk, Smolensk, Belgorod, and Oryol were shot down overnight.
The group of young soldiers is ecstatic. No one could tell you how many times they watched those images over and over, not least because every time a new video is posted online from an alarmed Toropets resident, the euphoria kicks back in. Don't they expect retaliation from the Russians, perhaps even against Kramatorsk? They think about it for a moment and then change the subject. They’re all young men, recently arrived to join up with the brigades stationed in this area. So far, none of them will be going to Pokrovsk. When we ask them if they’re relieved, they put on a display of bravado. But we can tell they’ve never seen combat. And so far, they have only spent time in the rear of the front, first for training and then in different reserve brigades. “We know the situation isn’t good for our guys,” Dima says when we keep asking about Pokrovsk, ”but if we don't fight, the Russians will come to Kyiv.” We tell them some of the stories we’ve heard from the military over the past few days and they listen carefully. Some seem a little disturbed.
“But wait, doesn't the command inform you about the situation on the ground?” we ask. “Each department has its own channel. We can't know everything, and then, some things are secret...” It doesn’t take long for them to admit that they’re reading Telegram channels to find out about the situation in certain areas. “Many have been made by experienced military personnel, they give you real information and explain the situation well,” one of the younger ones adds.
Kosta lets out a big whoop when he hears about the sabotage of Hezbollah devices in Lebanon: “We should do that to the Russians too!” We go on our way as they’re fantasizing about blowing up the Kremlin with the push of a button – “click, booom,” they keep saying over and over – and quietly wish they’ll never have to leave this place, talking tough and watching the war on the front lines from the safety of their cell phones. But we already know this won’t be the case: the Ukrainian army is in desperate need of men, and those without experience will have to acquire it quickly if they want to survive.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/brucia-il-deposito-dei-missili-e-festa-ucraina on 2024-09-19