A RUSSIAN ammunition depot exploded in a huge mushroom fireball after a massive Ukrainian kamikaze strike.
Dramatic footage showed the scale of the blasts in one of the biggest strikes of the war so far – with thick black smoke pouring into the sky in the town of Toropets and nearby villages.
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Tens of millions of pounds worth of missiles and ammunition went up in flames as repeated fireball explosions ripped through the depot.
Schools and kindergartens in the area were ordered to shut due to ongoing explosions and toxic smoke filling the sky.
The modern storage depots in Tver region – part of Russian military unit No. 71628 – were hit by multiple kamikaze drones in the massive attack.
It’s thought up to 30,000 tonnes of munitions was being held in the facilities for Putin’s war.
When the “Comprehensive Storage Arsenal” was constructed in 2018, Putin’s deputy defence minister General Dmitry Bulgakov vowed that “it protects missiles and munitions from outside impact and ensures proper upkeep”.
He boasted: “It is explosion and fire proof.”
Bulgakov has since been arrested in a Putin purge of top defence officials amid wide-ranging corruption allegations.
On Wednesday, regional governor Igor Rudenya said “air defence forces continue to repel a massive drone attack in the sky above (Toropets)”.
Later, his government said they “decided to partially evacuate the population from the territory where air defence forces are working and the fire is being localised”.
Residents of the town of 11,000 people said there was no warning of incoming kamikaze drones.
They reported sudden explosions and raging fires in the overnight strike.
There was no immediate report on casualties.
Multiple depots containing up to 240 tonnes of missiles, ammunition and explosives built in Toropets.
Ukrainian journalist Denis Kazansky said: “The scale of the detonation of the warehouse in the Tver region is impressive…
“The 107th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Federation is on fire.
“The depots stored rockets for MLRS, mortar mines and anti-aircraft missiles.
“In total, the volume of stockpiles is estimated at 30,000 tonnes.”
Bulgakov had boasted the arsenal “will hide missiles, munitions and explosives in concrete and rapidly assembled warehouses”.
“It will ease the overload on existing facilities, minimise terrorist threat and improve the environment in the storage area,” he said.
The facility is some 285 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Russian officials claimed the explosions were sparked by falling drone debris after air defences hit incoming UAVs.
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