Ukrainian drone strikes leave Russian ammo reserves reeling
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, confirmed that the Russians are still feeling the effects of the attack on the depots in the city of Toropets. In September of last year, these depots were almost completely destroyed, resulting in President Putin's army losing enormous stockpiles of ammunition, including mortar shells, rockets, and North Korean ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian military provided specific figures.
Gen. Vasyl Maliuk revealed that the Russians lost a total of approximately 160,000 metric tonnes of ammunition. The most painful losses for Putin's army relate to 120 mm shells, as the 107th Arsenal of the Main Rocket-Artillery Directorate (GRAU) held about 50% of the entire Russian reserve of this type of shell. The Bulgarian Military portal describes the disclosed losses as a "devastating blow to the Kremlin's logistics," noting that 120 mm shells are "the backbone of the Russian artillery arsenal and a pillar of ground operations against Ukraine."
Effects of the attack on warehouses in the city of Toropiec
The attack on the depots in the city of Toropets in the Tver Oblast in western Russia was carried out using Ukrainian drones. Numerous recordings depicting massive explosions were posted on social media. A few days after the event, it was confirmed that the force of the explosions was so great that they caused a 2.8 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale. Subsequent satellite photo analysis showed that the depots attacked by the Ukrainians were almost flattened.
"Among the losses was half of all stocks of 120 mm shells, which, I'm sorry, are for their troops like hotcakes," said Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, quoted by the Ukrainian portal Defense Express.
Ukrainian drones increasingly dangerous
Gen. Vasyl Maliuk added that in three years of war, the Ukrainian army has gained invaluable combat experience in the use of drones. This applies to both surface and flying drones, which are used not only on the front line but also at significant distances from it. The military official revealed that the Ukrainian army categorises its drones based on their operational range: 0–19 kilometres, 19–40 kilometres, 40–80 kilometres, 80–120 kilometres, and over 120 kilometres. The drones with the greatest range are mainly used for strikes on Russian territory.
Apart from ammunition depots, the main targets of Ukrainian attacks are military airfields and Russian refineries.
Russians dependent on supplies from North Korea
The prolonged war and the resulting use of ammunition, as well as attacks like the one on the depots in the city of Toropets, have led the Russians to experience an "ammunition shortage." In addition to their own reserves and current production, they have largely relied on the help of their greatest ally.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, stated that up to 50% of the ammunition used by Putin's army in the war with Ukraine comes from North Korea.
