A Ukrainian drone attack launched overnight destroyed an ammunition depot in the western Russian region of Tver, causing a massive blast, according to a source from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) who spoke to CNN on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian drones targeted a warehouse operated by the Russian defense ministry in the city of Toropets, which was storing Iskander tactical missile systems, Tochka-U tactical missile systems, guided aerial bombs, and artillery ammunition, the source said.

Large fires broke out from the debris of drones repelled by local air defenses, prompting the regional government to order a partial evacuation of the area during the early hours of Wednesday.

The governor, Igor Rudenya, stated that multiple emergency service units were involved in the response to bring the blazes under control.

Earthquake monitors now believe that explosions from the drone attack may have generated seismic activity.

Ben Dando, a seismologist at the Norwegian seismology research foundation NORSAR, told CNN that its sensors detected seismic signals of magnitude 2.

5 to 2.

8 in northwest Russia, which appear to be associated with the drone attack launched by Ukraine.

NORSAR, which has been using seismic monitors since 2022 to evaluate the impact of the war in Ukraine, is currently analyzing the preliminary data to capture the full extent of the blast, Dando added.

NASA satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of roughly 5 square miles at the site during the early hours of Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that a drone attack had been launched on the city of Toropets overnight, causing a fire due to the fall of debris, without specifically mentioning any targeting of a weapons facility.

Videos circulating on social media, verified by CNN, showed loud detonations and multiple buildings in the depot complex on fire.

Affected residents, including 11 children, have already been evacuated to the settlements of Kunya and Velikiye Luki in the neighboring Pskov region, TASS said.

No civilians are thought to have been injured in the drone attack, the news agency reported, citing Rudenya.

“Now we are engaged in evacuating the population, residents, maintaining public order,” Rudenya said in a later video statement, stressing that multiple emergency service units were involved in the response.

Rudenya made the call to evacuate so emergency services at the scene could work fully to bring the blazes under control, the local government said in a post on its official Telegram channel.

The Ukrainian security source told CNN that attacks of this nature are being used methodically to reduce Russia’s missile potential, adding that plans for further attacks on similar Russian military facilities are proceeding.

Ukraine has been pushing its key allies, including the United States, to give the go-ahead to carry out missile strikes on targets deeper into Russian territory.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missile systems would mean entering into war with Russia itself.

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