Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Ukrainian Drones Strike a Major Military Depot in a Russian Town Northwest of Moscow
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 months ago on
September 18, 2024

Ukrainian drones strike Russian military depot, causing fire and evacuations, as Zelenskyy prepares to unveil war-ending plan. (AP/Maxar Technologies)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian drones struck a large military depot in a town deep inside Russia overnight, causing a huge fire and forcing some residents to evacuate, a Ukrainian official and Russian news reports said Wednesday. At least 13 people were injured, Russia’s Health Ministry added.

Zelenskyy’s Plan for Ending the War

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. diplomat said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a workable plan to end the war, now in its third year, although its details have not been publicly disclosed.

Ukraine claimed the strike destroyed military warehouses in Toropets, a town in Russia’s Tver region about 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of Moscow and about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

The attack was carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service, along with Ukraine’s Intelligence and Special Operations Forces, a Kyiv security official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the operation.

According to the official, the depot housed Iskander and Tochka-U missiles, as well as glide bombs and artillery shells. He said the facility caught fire in the strike and was burning across an area 6 kilometers (4 miles) wide.

Among the destroyed ammunition were North Korean KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, another official, in Ukraine’s Intelligence Office, told AP. He also was not authorized to comment publicly and didn’t provide evidence to support his claim.

Russia and North Korea signed a landmark pact in June that envisioned mutual military assistance between Moscow and Pyongyang.

More than 100 domestically produced exploding drones were deployed in the attack on the depot, the Ukrainian intelligence official added.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted regional authorities as saying air defense systems were working to repel a “massive drone attack” on Toropets, which has a population of about 11,000. The agency also reported a fire and the evacuations, and the Health Ministry said 13 people were hospitalized in the region after the attack.

Tver regional Gov. Igor Rudenya later said all evacuees could return home.

Ukraine’s Strategy and Western Support

Successful Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia have become more common as Kyiv developed its drone technology.

Zelenskyy also is seeking approval from Western nations for Ukraine to use the sophisticated weapons they are providing to hit targets inside Russia. Some Western leaders have balked at that, fearing they could be dragged into the conflict.

Part of Kyiv’s strategy is targeting of military equipment, ammunition and infrastructure deep inside Russia, as well as making civilians feel some of the consequences of the war that is being fought largely inside Ukraine.

The swift push by Ukrainian forces into Russia’s Kursk border region last month fits into that plan, which apparently seeks to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to back down.

Putin, however, has shown no signs of that and has been trying to grind down Ukraine’s resolve through attritional warfare and also sap the West’s support for Kyiv by drawing out the conflict. That has come at a price, however, as the U.K. Defense Ministry estimates the war has probably killed or wounded more than 600,000 Russian troops.

On Tuesday, Putin ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by 180,000 to a total of 1.5 million by Dec. 1.

Zelenskyy’s Plan for Victory

Zelenskyy announced his war plan in his nightly address on Monday, saying it’s 90% ready and will be presented to allies over the next week.

He said Ukraine’s plan for victory includes not only battlefield goals but also diplomatic and economic wins. The plan has been kept under wraps but the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said at a news conference Tuesday that Washington officials have seen it.

“We think it lays out a strategy and a plan that can work,” she said, adding that the United States will bring it up with other world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week. She did not comment on what the plan contained.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

DON'T MISS

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

DON'T MISS

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

DON'T MISS

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

DON'T MISS

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

DON'T MISS

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

UP NEXT

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

UP NEXT

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

UP NEXT

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

UP NEXT

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

14 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

15 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

15 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

15 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

16 hours ago

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

16 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

17 hours ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

17 hours ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

18 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

18 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

12 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. (REUTERS File)
14 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

15 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Chickens sit at a poultry farm. March 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo)
15 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

15 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Candi, GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week
16 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend