A significant drone strike by Ukraine on Russian territory resulted in a massive explosion and prompted the partial evacuation of residents near a large military arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, as reported by war bloggers and various media outlets.

Unverified footage and images circulating on social media depicted a colossal fireball shooting into the night sky, accompanied by loud detonations echoing across a nearby lake in this area located northwest of Moscow and close to the Belarus border. NASA satellites detected multiple sources of activity at the site in the early hours of Wednesday, while earthquake monitoring stations recorded what appeared to be a minor seismic event in the vicinity.

Firefighters were engaged in efforts to control the blaze, as stated by Igor Rudenya, the governor of the Tver region, in a message on the region’s Telegram channel. He did not specify the nature of the burning materials. A report from RIA state news agency in 2018 indicated that Russia was constructing an arsenal in Toropets, a historic town with a population of just over 11,000, for the storage of missiles, ammunition, and explosives.

Russian state media indicated that the site in question was a significant stockpile of conventional weapons. There were no reports of casualties.

George William Herbert from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California, noted that the magnitude of the primary explosion depicted in an unverified social media video appeared to align with the detonation of 200-240 tons of high explosives.

The defense ministry did not provide a response to a request for clarification. In the Zapadnodvinsky district, which adjoins the Toropetsky district, schools and kindergartens transitioned to online learning, as announced by the district administration on the VKontakte social network.

According to reports from Russian state news agencies, Russia’s air defense units intercepted 54 drones launched by Ukraine overnight targeting five western Russian regions. Regional governors reported no damage resulting from these attacks.

The report from the defense ministry did not reference the Tver region, located to the southeast of the Moscow region. There was no immediate response from Ukraine. Kyiv has previously stated that its strikes against Russia target military, energy, and transportation infrastructure that are vital to Moscow’s military operations.

Russian authorities seldom reveal the full scale of the damage caused by Ukrainian assaults. Over the past two years, as Ukraine has significantly increased its domestic drone production, it has also intensified its attacks on Russian territory.

In September, Ukraine launched its largest drone assault on the Russian capital, resulting in at least one fatality, damaging residential areas, and causing disruptions to flights at Moscow’s airports.