Ukrainian drones strike deep in Russian territory, prompting evacuations
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, alarm sirens wailed in Ukraine and Russia. In Toropets, located in the Tver region, one of the drones struck an ammunition depot at a military unit stationed there. Authorities announced a partial evacuation of the town. "Well, it finally happened," can be heard in one of the recordings posted online by Toropets residents.
Russian drones attack Ukraine, while Ukrainian drones target Russia. During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, alerts were declared in several Russian regions: Bryansk, Smolensk, Tula, Oryol, and Tver.
The Tver region borders Belarus to the west and the Moscow region to the south. Despite its significant distance from Ukraine's borders, Ukrainian drones also reach this area.
On this night, the drones targeted the town of Toropets, located about 40 kilometres from the Belarusian border. What is so interesting about this town? There is a military unit there, which was most likely the target of the attack.
Moments after the air raid alarm and the first volleys of air defence, residents noticed the glow of a fire on the town's outskirts. The fire spread quickly, and notably, it was accompanied by the sounds of explosions.
The region's authorities immediately stated that the fire was started by debris from a drone shot down by air defence. However, they did not inform what was burning.
Authorities declared a partial evacuation
Videos of the fire and information that the ammunition depot in Toropets was burning began to appear online.
"The governor of the region, Igor Rudenya, decided on a partial evacuation of people from places where the air defence operates and where the fire is being extinguished. The situation is under control," RIA Novosti soon reported.
The Russian channel Astra reported that a military unit based in Toropets had been attacked by drones at least twice before. "Regional authorities and the Russian Ministry of Defence did not inform about this," reads Astra's channel on Telegram.
This military unit was first attacked by a drone on the night of 4 May. At that time, the drone also crashed on its premises, causing a fire. Another attack occurred early on the morning of 28 June when two drones appeared over it.
