Ukraine drone attack triggers earthquake-sized blast at Russian arsenal

A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered an earthquake-sized blast at a major arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of a nearby town, war bloggers and some media reported.

Unverified video and images on social media showed a huge ball of flame blasting into the night sky and multiple detonations thundering across a lake about 380km (240 miles) west of Moscow.

Nasa satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of about 14 sq km (5 square miles) at the site in the early hours and earthquake monitoring stations noted what sensors thought was a small earthquake in the area.

“The enemy hit an ammunition depot in the area of Toropets,” said Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger. “Everything that can burn is already burning there (and exploding).”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, hailed the outcome of the attack without referring specifically to the target.