Russia’s Tver region, 180km northwest of Moscow, has been hit by a suspected drone attack from Ukraine. The overnight attack on an arms depot sparked a huge fire, leaving local rescue workers struggling to extinguish the blaze while nearby residents were evacuated.
The Telegram channel Astra and other social media outlets published videos showing a drone attack and a huge fireball rising into the sky in the early hours of September 18, with explosions heard across the area near the town of Toropets, located west of the Tver region.
Reports indicate that the town is home to a Russian military unit that has previously been targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks. Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported in 2018 that a warehouse for storing missiles, ammunition and explosives was being built in Toropets, which has a population of about 11,000.
Tver region governor Igor Rudenya said on his Telegram channel that the remains of drones had started the fire in Toropets, but did not specify what was burning. Mr Rudenya said Russian air defence units were trying to repel a “large-scale drone attack”. There were no reports of casualties.
Russian state media reported that kindergartens and schools were temporarily closed in the Zapadnodvinsk district, which borders the Toropetsk district in the Tver region, without giving a reason.
The Astra Telegram channel reported that residents of the village of Tsikarevo, located near the arsenal and along a lake, were unable to evacuate and were waiting for help. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment specifically on the incident, only saying that 54 Ukrainian drones targeted five regions in western Russia overnight, and that all of them had been destroyed.
Smoke and flames rise after a drone attack on Toropet, Tver region, Russia, September 18, 2024. Photo: Cyprus Mail
The Russian Defense Ministry, without mentioning the Tver region, said half of the drones were shot down over the Kursk region, where Russian forces launched a counterattack to push Ukrainian forces out of the area.
The remaining drones were shot down in the Bryansk, Smolensk, Oryol and Belgorod regions, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Regional authorities in the western Smolensk region, which borders Belarus, and the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, also said the drones had been shot down.
Kiev has not commented on the situation, but has previously said its attacks on Russia are aimed at destroying military, energy and transport infrastructure that Moscow uses to carry out its military campaign in Ukraine. As Ukraine has ramped up its domestic production of UAVs/drones over the past two years, it has also stepped up its attacks on Russian territory.
Minh Duc (According to RFE/RL, Cyprus Mail )
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/nga-khu-vuc-cach-moscow-180-km-bi-uav-tap-kich-trong-dem-204240918145543247.htm
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