A Ukrainian drone allegedly struck a large arms depot about 240 miles west of Moscow on Wednesday, causing an earthquake-like explosion and forcing thousands of people to flee the area.
Ukrainian authorities have yet to claim responsibility for the attack, but a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said: The attack was reportedly confirmed According to the Kyiv Independent and other reports, military bloggers and local officials said the Ukrainian drone was shot down over Russia's Tver region, which is known to be home to a military arsenal.
Video footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed a large explosion early Wednesday morning, but the cause or target of the blast could not be independently confirmed.
In this screenshot taken from a social media video released on September 18, 2024, clouds rise after an explosion in Toropets, Tver Oblast, Russia. (via Social Media/Reuters)
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An intense heat source was reported Captured by NASA satellite The “weak” earthquake, measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale, was detected over an area of roughly five square miles and caused “light shaking nearby.” [the] The “epicenter” is in the Tver region, just 55 miles from the border with Belarus.
Russian state media, which is tightly controlled by the Kremlin, did not appear to be reporting on the explosion as of Wednesday afternoon Moscow time.
Tver Oblast Governor Igor Rudenya said a fire had broken out and a Ukrainian drone had been shot down, but did not confirm what was burning. First reported by Reuters.
Rudenya also said some residents had been evacuated, while East to West reported that around 3,000 Russians had been evacuated from the area.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ukraine's military intelligence agency, GUR, for comment but could not immediately be reached.
In this screenshot taken from a social media video released on September 18, 2024, an explosion and flames are seen in Toropets, Tver Oblast, Russia. (via Social Media/Reuters)
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Russian defense forces have reportedly destroyed 54 drones launched in five Russian regions, but Moscow has not mentioned the drone attacks over the Tver region, and it is unclear from where the Ukrainian drone attacks were launched.
The explosion at the arms depot was reported to have occurred in the town of Toropets, about 480 miles from Kursk in southwestern Russia, where Ukrainian forces began their advance last month, and about 400 miles from Ukraine's northernmost border with Russia.
A Ukrainian soldier operates a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region near the Russian border on August 12, 2024. (Roman Pilipei/AFP via Getty Images)
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Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Moscow and its mainland in recent months, and Kiev has called on the United States and its NATO allies to allow it to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia.
Those bans on attacks have not been lifted, and it is unclear how Ukraine was able to use drones to attack key military facilities hundreds of miles inside Russian territory without being detected.
