That is why for several months now, Ukrainians have been regularly trying to strike at sources, namely the main logistics warehouses, of which there are only a few within the range of drones. Any loss of such a squadron is a huge blow to the Russian army.
The destroyed warehouse near Toropec contained 30,000 tons of all types of ammunition. From artillery shells and mortars to rockets for the Grad, S-300 and S-400 systems, ballistic missiles for the Iskander-M systems and KN-23 missiles made in North Korea, which were recently supposed to be imported to Russia.
And if there were also 152mm artillery shells, the Russians would lose two months of supplies for the entire front. However, the losses of missiles, which are expensive and complicated to produce, are painful.
Powerful explosions
Meanwhile, seismological centers recorded small earthquakes measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale. Each of these was caused by secondary explosions, which were caused by the subsequent explosion of weapons depots. The largest of these had a power equivalent to almost 2 kilotons of TNT. For comparison, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima had the equivalent of 16 kilotons of TNT, and the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki had the equivalent of 22 kilotons of TNT.
All windows within a 7 km radius of the ammunition depot were blown out. The explosion tore off the roofs of residential buildings 2 km away. This happened because the 107th Military Arsenal was located on the outskirts of Toropec, with a population of fourteen thousand, near several villages and Lake Kudyńskie. Typically, such facilities are built in a remote area so that in the event of an explosion, civilians would not be injured.
Meanwhile, due to a massive fire that has been raging for several days, residents of the nearby village of Cikariewo are unable to evacuate. Russian media have begun reporting that residents are looking for boats to cross Lake Kudyna on their own, as the fire spreads rapidly and state services completely ignore the need to evacuate civilians.
What’s more interesting is that this wasn’t the first attack on this arsenal. The military unit was attacked for the first time on the night of May 5 and for the second time on July 29, when two attack drones exploded at the base, causing a harmless fire. However, as you can see, the third time they managed to destroy the target using six unmanned aerial vehicles.
This was only possible due to the impotence of the Russian anti-aircraft system and the lack of conclusions drawn by the district and base command. The arsenal’s air defense has not been strengthened since May, although Kremlin propaganda claims that Russian weapons depots and nuclear shield installations are “protected by the most advanced defense technology.”
There have been questions in the media about the warehouse, which was supposed to withstand a nuclear explosion but did not survive the impact of light unmanned aerial vehicles carrying 50-70 kg of explosives. Russian commentators stress that the loss of two months of ammunition supplies could affect operations at the front and the scale of attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. For now, however, this is not visible at the front.
Fighting in Donbass
After two weeks of relative peace and limited scale of attacks, the Russians, as we announced, have increased their human reserves and resumed heavy attacks in the Donbass. In the 24 hours between 9:00 am on Wednesday and 9:00 am on Thursday, September 19, 187 clashes were recorded. The situation on the front remains difficult and the Russians, using their numerical and equipment advantage, are mercilessly attacking Ukrainian positions.
The greatest intensity occurred near Pokrovsk, although the frequency is still slightly lower than two weeks ago. In this section, the Russians attacked almost 50 times, mainly trying to break through near Novgorodivka.
There was somewhat less intensity near Kurakhovy, where the Russians are still trying to drive a wedge to threaten positions at Pokrovsk in the north and Vuhledar in the south. The aim is to facilitate the attack near Pokrovsk, which is still the main target of Russian attacks. The city is an important logistics hub and its capture could cut off communication between the southern and northern sections of the front.
The so-called rasputica, or Eastern European rainy season, which turns roads into impassable swamps in the fall. The Russian army already has problems with the use of heavy tracked vehicles such as tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, which they use most often for flanking. They will be forced to attack with successive groups of infantry, as they did last fall.
This may be another problem for the Russians that has been growing for several months. According to all intelligence data and the Russians themselves, the Russian army now has a huge personnel problem. It is capable of mobilizing, according to various sources, a maximum of 30-35 thousand soldiers per month, but for now it cannot afford more.
The Ukrainians are trying to strengthen their positions near Pokrovsk. However, if they do not send enough well-equipped and well-rested reinforcements, the Russians will continue to push the defenses westward, thanks to their numerical advantage in infantry. And it will not do them much good to destroy Russia’s ammunition stockpiles. At most, it will make it more difficult for the Russians to advance. They have too many people and a lack of combat resources that has never stopped the Kremlin rulers from attacking.
