Ukraine carried out an attack that hit an ammunition depot in southern Russia, according to social media reports showing its fierce consequences.
“The city of Ostrogozhsk, in Russia’s Voronezh region, was attacked via several drones,” the X (formerly Twitter) account, War is Translated, posted on Saturday, along with videos purportedly showing flames at the site about 400 miles south of Moscow.
“The effect will have to be incredibly intense because the explosions and fires in Ostrogozhsk have not stopped since early this morning,” the message adds.
“Ukrainian drones visited a weapons workshop in Russia’s Voronezh region last night,” the pro-Ukrainian X Jay account in Kiev posted.
However, there appears to be uncertainty over the munitions involved, with local media reporting that Ukraine may have used a Neptune cruise missile in the attack, which caused secondary explosions.
Reached for comment, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a statement: “We do not comment on what is in Russia. Newsweek also reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Voronezh Oblast, which borders Ukraine’s Luhansk region, is home to military airfields, oil refineries and ammunition depots used through Moscow and in the past attacked through Kyiv.
Yesterday afternoon, the city of Ostrogozhsk, in Russia’s Voronezh region, was attacked by several drones. According to local authorities, as a result of “falling debris” from drones, an ammunition depot exploded in the city of Ostrogozhsk. The effect will have to be very… pic. twitter. com/Gz8anTdFoU
Voronezh regional governor Alexander Guoussev said on Saturday that Russian air defense had destroyed several drones and that falling weapon fragments had caused a fire and a “detonation of explosive objects” at an unidentified location. He said two other people were injured and another two hundred people were evacuated from their homes.
On July 7, Gusev described in terms of an attack on an ammunition depot in the area, saying there were detonations of unidentified objects, without specifying the facility attacked.
Russia’s Astra Telegram channel reported on Saturday that ammunition in Ostrogozhsk was still exploding 8 hours after the attack.
“The detonation continues, so I ask you that once you return to calm, be very careful and comply with all protection requirements,” said Ostrogozhsky district chief Sergei Khoroshilov.
It comes as Ukraine has stepped up its measures against the Russian military’s infrastructure and power in a bid to quell Moscow’s military machine.
The Ukrainian military demonstrated on Friday that this was an attack the day before the Conro Trader shipment at the port of Kavkaz in Russia’s Krasnodar Territory, with a video on social media showing flames and smoke rising into the sky.
Meanwhile, a strike at an oil terminal in the town of Proletarsk in the Rostov region sparked a fire that continues to burn and is reportedly spreading to residential buildings, amid complaints from citizens that the government was doing enough to fight the fire.
Updated 8/24/24 at 11 a. m. ET: This article was updated with comments from the Ukraine Ministry of Defense.
Brendan Cole is a senior reporter at Newsweek in London, UK. He focuses on Russia and Ukraine, specifically the war unleashed through Moscow. He also covers other areas of geopolitics, adding China.
Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from International Business Times and, in addition to English, studies Russian and French.
You can contact Brendan by emailing b. cole@newsweek. com or following him on his X account @brendanmarkcole.
© 2024 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC