A drone strike in the Tikhoretsk district of Russia‘s Krasnodar Krai triggered the detonation of explosive materials, believed to be at an ammunition depot, with dramatic footage showing a massive blast at the site.
The incident took place in the early hours of this morning, when Russian air defence units intercepted two drones.
Debris from one of the drones sparked a fire that spread to what were described as “explosive objects”, causing the detonations. The depot is believed to store ammunution supplied by North Korea‘s Kim Jong-un.
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed that local residents are being evacuated as a precaution, though no casualties have been reported thus far.
The Tikhoretsk district houses a significant ammunition depot, which has reportedly been expanded in recent months.
While Governor Kondratyev did not specify the exact location of the explosions, Russian news outlet Astra has suggested the ammunition depot was the target.
This attack follows a similar strike on 18 September, when Ukrainian drones targeted a major weapons depot in Toropets, Tver Oblast.
In a statement issued today, Kondratyev said: “At night, the Tikhoretsk district was subjected to a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.
“Two drones were suppressed by air defence and electronic warfare forces.
“The falling debris of one of them caused a fire that spread to explosive objects. Detonation began.”
He added: “Now, for safety reasons, residents of the village located near the fire site are being temporarily evacuated to nearby settlements.
“A temporary accommodation point has been set up in Tikhoretsk. Fire crews and special services are working at the scene.
“On my instructions, the head of the district, Anatoly Perepelin, is at the scene, reporting on the situation.
“According to preliminary information, there are no casualties among the residents of the district as a result of the emergency.”
Separately, a drone strike on Toropets strategic ammunition depot in Russia‘s Tvier region is likely to cause significant disruption to Russia‘s war effort, reported the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
The depot is used to store 30,000 tonnes of ordnance, including munitions of various calibres for frontline use.
A statement shared via X said: “The explosion at Toropets was recorded at 2.7 on the Richter scale, equivalent to a mild earthquake, with fires covering a 6 km-wide area.
“Although part of a wider supply network, this loss will highly likely disrupt Russian ground operations, particularly in the Kursk region.”
Addressing the latest attack, a Ukrainian government statement said: “Defence forces of Ukraine hit two military arsenals of the armed forces of the Russian Federation Tonight, fire damage was inflicted on the “Tikhoretsk” arsenal in the Krasnodar Territory.
“This object is one of the three largest ammunition storage bases of the occupiers and is one of the key ones in the logistics system of the Russian troops. According to available information, at the time of the attack, another echelon was on the territory of the arsenal, which delivered at least 2,000 tons of ammunition, including from the DPRK.
“The Podlyot radar station, which detected air targets in the direction of the arsenal, was also attacked.
“In addition, the SBU struck the 23rd arsenal of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation near the settlement of Oktyabrskiy, Tver Region.
“Fire and detonation are recorded in the areas of both military arsenals. The tasks were successfully completed in cooperation with the units of the Defense Forces: the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, and others. Combat work on important military targets of the Russian occupiers continues.”