WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR: M.J.
A huge mushroom cloud loomed high over an "indestructible" weapons depot in Russia as Ukraine carried out a devastating kamikaze drone strike overnight. In an instant, 30,000 tons of ammunition were burned, for which Putin gave tens of millions of dollars.
The explosion came after Putin invested tens of millions of pounds in materials that were supposed to go towards his war effort in Ukraine.
The mass evacuation of the inhabitants of Toropet and the surrounding villages is underway this morning after the buildings containing up to 30,000 tons of ammunition were hit.
Russia claimed to have destroyed 54 drones launched early Wednesday toward five western Russian regions. Information about the victims was not given.
According to a 2018 report by the state news agency RIA, Russia was building an arsenal to store missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropec, a 1,000-year-old town with a population of just over 11,000.
Upon completion, Putin's deputy defense minister, General Dmitry Bulgakov, promised that "it protects missiles and ammunition from external influences and ensures proper maintenance. It is resistant to explosion and fire.
Bulgakov has since been arrested during Putin's purge of top defense ministry officials on broad corruption charges.
NASA satellites picked up several sources coming from the site in the early hours of Wednesday, and earthquake monitoring stations detected what sensors thought was a minor earthquake in the area.
Firefighters were trying to contain the fire, Igor Rudenja, the governor of Tver Oblast, said in a post on Telegram. He didn't say what was burning.
He initially wrote: "Air defense forces continue to repulse massive drone attack in skies over Toropec".
Closed schools and kindergartens
Later, his regional government announced that "in order to ensure the safety of the residents, the governor decided to partially evacuate the population from the territory where the air defense forces are working and where the fire is localized."
Due to the explosions and toxic smoke, the closure of schools and kindergartens in the area was also ordered today.
Residents of the city complained that there was no warning about the arrival of the kamikaze drones.
In addition to the main inferno after the explosion, there were several other fires following the drone strike, according to satellite data and local footage. The fires then spread.
Several warehouses of up to 240 tons of missiles, ammunition and explosives were built in Toropac.
In the warehouses, "missiles for MLRS, mortar mines and anti-aircraft missiles are stored," he said. "In total, the stockpile volume is estimated at 30,000 tons."
It is possible that North Korean and Iranian missiles were among those that exploded.
Russia is hiding the full extent of the damage
Bulgakov boasted that the arsenal would "hide missiles, ammunition and explosives in concrete and quickly assembled warehouses".
"It will alleviate overcrowding on existing facilities, minimize the terrorist threat and improve the warehouse environment."
The facility is approximately 285 miles from the Ukrainian border.
As usual in such attacks, Russian officials explained that the detonations were the result of falling drone debris after air defenses hit the incoming drones.
In reality, these are usually direct strikes by Ukraine, which avoids air defenses.
Russian officials rarely reveal the full extent of the damage caused by the Ukrainian attacks.
As Ukraine has increased domestic drone production over the past two years, it has increased attacks on Russian territory.
Ukraine's largest drone attack in the Russian capital hit the Russian capital in September, killing at least one person, destroying homes and disrupting flights at Moscow's airports.
