ISW: Ukrainian drone attack on Russian ammo depot in Tver proves value of long-range strikes
Ukraine's drone strike on a Russian missile storage facility in Tver Oblast proves the value of long-range attacks on Russian territory and may impact its offensive capabilities in Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces conducted a successful drone strike against a Russian missile and ammunition storage facility near Toropets, Tver Oblast on 18 September, demonstrating the strategic importance of long-range attacks on Russian territory, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
A Ukrainian security source told Ukrainian outlet Suspilne that drone operators from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR), and Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) targeted a facility at the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) Main Missile and Artillery Directorate’s 107th Arsenal in Toropets.
Ukraine’s Tver ammo depot attack featuring jet drones lowers Russian threat to Baltics
The facility reportedly stored Iskander missiles, Tochka-U ballistic missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and artillery ammunition. Significant secondary detonations followed the initial Ukrainian drone strike, as evidenced by footage published on 16 September.
Head of Ukraine’s Center for Combatting Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, suggested that Russian forces may have also stored ammunition for BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), S-300 and S-400 air defense missiles, and North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles at the facility.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that “continued Ukrainian strikes against rear Russian logistics facilities within Russia will generate wider operational pressures on the Russian military beyond the individual destruction of ammunition stockpiles and logistics facilities.” According to Suspilne’s sources, these strikes are undermining Russia’s ability to conduct long-range missile strikes against Ukraine.
The ISW noted,
“The lifting of restrictions on the use of Western systems and the continued development of Ukraine’s own long-range strike capabilities may allow Ukrainian forces to more effectively exploit such Russian vulnerabilities.”
The think tank concluded,
“Ukrainian strikes against facilities within Russia could impact offensive operations throughout the theater in Ukraine if Ukrainian forces have the matériel, capabilities, and permission to conduct such a strike campaign against logistics and support facilities within Russia at scale.”
This recent strike follows a similar attack on a Russian ammunition depot near Sergeevka, Voronezh Oblast in July 2024. The continued targeting of Russian ammunition and missile storage facilities within Russian territory could potentially destroy a significant portion of Russia’s matériel reserves and force a reorganization of its logistics systems.
Related:
- Ukraine’s Tver ammo depot attack featuring jet drones lowers Russian threat to Baltics
- Ammunition depot in Russia’s Tver Oblast is burning after drone strike
- Fire at Russia’s Trans-Siberian railway halts traffic for two hours (video)
- Russia claims it downed 144 drones on their way to Moscow
- Russia opens Mariupol railway, cutting logistics routes by 300 km
- Russian military expands logistics capabilities with new base near Rostov – investigation
- Ukraine strikes Russian-occupied gas platform in Black Sea used for electronic warfare
- UK intel: Railway sabotage challenges Russian military’s supply chain logistics
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