KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – A fire erupted at a Russian arms depot deep inside the country, resulting in explosions and the closure of a major highway, after Ukraine deployed over 100 drones against Russia and occupied Crimea on Friday night, according to Russian news reports and the Defense Ministry.
The facility appears to be located just several kilometers from another that was targeted by Ukrainian drones earlier this week, causing injuries to 13 people and a massive fire.
On Saturday, Russian authorities closed off a 100-kilometer (62-mile) stretch of a highway and evacuated passengers from a nearby train station after the fire led to a series of explosions. Posts on local Telegram channels in the messaging app suggested that a missile depot was hit near the town of Toropets, in Russia’s Tver region approximately 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of Moscow and about 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Unauthenticated images circulating on Telegram depicted a large ball of fire ascending into the night sky, accompanied by numerous smoke trails generated by detonations.
A separate attack occurred on Saturday in southwestern Russia, where an ammunition depot and missile arsenal caught fire, prompting evacuations following a series of blasts caused by the blaze. Social media videos displayed bright orange clouds rising above the horizon, accompanied by the dull thuds of detonations that sounded almost continuously.
Russia’s Defense Ministry declared early on Saturday that its forces had successfully shot down 101 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory and occupied Crimea during the night. There were no immediate reports of casualties in either Russian region.