Apparently, Ukrainian drones pushed through and started a chain reaction.

Explosions reportedly continued for hours, and authorities evacuated nearby settlements. Initial reports indicate that the site, previously protected by one of Russia’s densest air defense networks, suffered catastrophic damage.

  • @Carmakazi@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    13318 days ago

    I’m pretty sure competent militaries store their munitions in networks of dozens if not hundreds of earthen bunkers per site, specifically so shit like this can’t happen.

    264 kilotons is a fuckload of bombs.

    • @perestroika@lemm.eeOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      88
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      Competent ones, I think they do.

      Possible explanations:

      • yet another time, someone had set money aside for personal use, consequently the bunkers had doors made of plywood or roofing tin :)

      • arrival of drones was timed to match the loading / unloading of an ammunition train (that’s when even competent militaries have to bring their stuff out)

    • @Corngood@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2718 days ago

      Assuming I’m looking at the right thing on google maps, it does seem to be a lot of earthen bunkers with berms separating them. There are also quite a few free standing buildings scattered around.

      I looked at Hawthorne Army Depot (US) to compare, and that one is a lot less dense, but it’s absolutely gigantic.

    • @vxx@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2618 days ago

      It could hold that much, but according to Ukraine it was 105000 tons that exploded. Huge success though.

    • @AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      18
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      They may not have enough manpower to guard a more distributed site, especially if they’re afraid of internal groups seizing some of it.

        • @perestroika@lemm.eeOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          20
          edit-2
          18 days ago

          If you think of the fill percentage, I think that’s too optimistic, since they’re in a war. There is constant demand. However, even 50% would be an extremely big amount, and relieve Ukrainians from a lot of pressure (last year, when a similar thing happened in Toropets, it had effects on the front within weeks). This time, from the videos I saw, there was enough to keep detonating for a long time.

          Whatever the fill percentage and loss percentage, the site is closed for a long time - if something remains, it cannot be reached, it has to be examined and re-certified. But more likely, very little will remain.

          In the coming days, satellite photos will tell what the situation is.

    • Raltoid
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1018 days ago

      Competent being the key word in that sentence, and not an accurate one based on the last few years of intel.

    • @merc@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      518 days ago

      I assume that bunkers protect you from a chain reaction, but that at some point the explosion is big enough that a chain reaction is exactly what you get.

      This definitely seems like it would have been big enough to cause a chain reaction (and/or big enough to show that a chain reaction happened). If so, I wonder what fraction of bunkers exploded. I’m glad we live in an age of civilian satellites, so it’s probably just a matter of time before we get to see the damage for ourselves.

  • @ByteJunk@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    10018 days ago

    Can we have links to more reputable, known news sites please? Never heard of that one. Here’s the BBC.

    Russia’s military blamed the blast on ammunition which had detonated after the storage building caught fire due to a “violation of safety requirements”.

    Huh, I suppose maybe a drone-sized violation?

    • @PurpleSkull@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      4718 days ago

      Have seen euromaidanpress articles before, I think they’re legit if not a bit sensationalist and obviously very pro-Ukraine.

      And of course Russia blames a smoooooking incident. There’s this one Russian guy who just smokes everywhere he shouldn’t. Munition storages, aviation bases, flagship Moskva…

      • @SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        918 days ago

        Why am I now picturing a chain smoking Forrest Gump? “Life is like a pack of cigarettes, you never know what’s gonna blow up.”

      • @ByteJunk@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        318 days ago

        Sensationalism is the kind of red flags I run away from… Obviously the BBC have their own political slant, but I’m aware of it and can correct for that. Same when I read an article from something like Fox “News”.

        But if you give me some unknown site of which I don’t know the background and more importantly, who’s funding it, then it’s useless to me and I’ll just add it to the bunch of misinformation machines I run into everyday.

    • A Wild Mimic appears!
      link
      fedilink
      English
      817 days ago

      Alexander Avdeyev also threatened journalists and residents with fines if they shared unofficial information about the blast.

      ah yes, i always threaten journalists when there’s nothing to report

        • @Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          6
          edit-2
          18 days ago

          I think it’s more that the British Press in general is pretty political, heavy on the spin and hence one of the least trusted in Europe by the locals themselves.

          When it comes to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine - which is very politically and geostrategically significant for the UK government - the level and direction of the bias of the BBC is no different from the Euromaidan Press hence for those who think the latter is not a “serious source”, the former is also not a “serious source”.

          Mind you, on different subjects which are not related to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine (such as the Israeli Genocide in Gaza) I fully expect the Euromaidan Press is often less biased (on this specific example, significantly so) than the BBC.

          Just because the BBC is posh doesn’t mean they’re honest (in fact from my own experience living in the UK, posh more often than not means fake. manipulative and dishonest)

  • @gaael@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    4218 days ago

    I hace no idea how serious a blow this is. Can anyone provide any sense of magnitude for these 264 000 tons of munitions? Like how big a chunk of total ammunition stockpile woukd this be? How big is it compared to current manufacturing rate?

  • @AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    38
    edit-2
    18 days ago

    Kirzhach is on the far side of Moscow from Ukraine. Did the drones fly over Moscow to reach it, or did they take a longer route?

    • Thomrade
      link
      fedilink
      English
      5518 days ago

      They may have been launched from within Russia.

      • @gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        5618 days ago

        Yeah, that’s the fun part of going to war with an adversary that was formerly a part of your empire: they have A LOT of people that can convincingly pass as your nationals - not to mention, there’s a small but meaningful percentage of your own citizens that are going to be sympathetic enough (due to family, social, and cultural connections) to that adversary that they’d be willing to act on their behalf for stuff like this.

          • @gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            English
            53
            edit-2
            18 days ago

            As an American, it is utterly insane to me that there’s a good number of Americans that are just like “huh yeah I guess we’re gonna bomb Canada to make them do what we want”.

            Then again, there’s a lot of utterly insane things happening these days.

            A lot of my countrymen are gonna be finding out about Type II “sorry” if we try any military adventurism. And I’m sure Greenlanders would welcome an expeditionary force of Finns, considering their rich and storied experience (5-6.5:1 KD ratio; ~5:1 overall casualty ratio, without even considering the Continuation War).

            • @cygnus@lemmy.ca
              link
              fedilink
              English
              34
              edit-2
              18 days ago

              Type II “sorry”

              Love this, and now that I see your username I find this quote has a Banksian quality to it.

              Type I: I’m sorry
              Type II: You’ll be sorry

              • @gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
                link
                fedilink
                English
                20
                edit-2
                18 days ago

                It is absolutely an Iain M Banks reference (and thank you for noticing <3). I identify as a GSV.

                Type II (alternate): said cheekily, immediately after finding a loophole in the Geneva Convention

                • @cygnus@lemmy.ca
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  818 days ago

                  GOU Type II Sorry
                  ROU Geneva Suggestions
                  LOU Trench Raid
                  GCU I Never Agreed to a Truce

          • @Someone@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            English
            218 days ago

            The American government has already shown they’re happy to round up people who look like "foreign enemies"whether they are or not. If your enemy has almost the exact same demographics, all of a sudden there’s probable cause to detain anyone (I know, it’s not like they care about any due process but everything else feels like we’re in make believe land anyways).

        • Dr. Moose
          link
          fedilink
          English
          7
          edit-2
          18 days ago

          This is exactly why Zelensky is saying Ukraine needs to be made whole for sustainble peace. Bitter Ukrainians will not let go otherwise and Russia is such an easy target for them. How will you keep peace agreement when every Russian car is a bomb now?

  • @Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    3518 days ago

    Is there a particular reason I only ever see ukraine positive war stuff? And when I see negative ukraine war stuff it’s coming out of trumps mouth?

    No, I don’t follow it religiously.

    • @TheLunatic@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      35
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      Russia’s apparent war plan involves lots of slow attritional fighting, which isn’t flashy and rarely results in a “Win”. Not to mention we kind of do see the russian equivalent of this attack (Bombing hospitals, shopping malls and power infrastructure) reported on, it’s just not considered a win to kill civilians in the west.

      A view I agree with not only on the basis of valuing peace, life and the safety of noncombatants but also on the basis of it not being an effective way to win a war, e.g Korean war, Vietnam war, or the near leveling of London and large swaths of europe in Ww2. Strategic bombing of civilian assets just makes the people being bombed more likely to fight back and willing to endure higher casualties on the front lines.

      Fun tidbit, this depot explosion was initially claimed to be “Negligence and mishandling of munitions” by the kremlin, which along with “Smoking accident” is basically shorthand for “Was hit by a drone but we don’t want to let our people know that we aren’t able to keep the war away from them”.

      • @frezik@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        817 days ago

        Like the sinking of the Moskva, they choose a story that makes them look incompetent rather than giving the enemy a win. If you have to make this choice, you might be losing.

    • @Valmond@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      3318 days ago

      Just to add, Ukrainians information is remarkably reliant and verifiable, the russian information is kremlin lies, so from the start the russian part is just not very interesing at all.

      Also obviously they both talk about good things for them, classic war propaganda.

      Add in that Ukraine is the (incredible) underdog and here we are.

      • @TheLunatic@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        9
        edit-2
        17 days ago

        This is an important point that people like to ignore, Whilst both sides exaggerate ukraine tells you there are 30 cows in a field when you can only see 28, Russia tells you there is an elephant and three dragons in the same field then tells you you’re falling for ukraines propaganda when you tell them you can only see cows.

    • @xiii@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      3317 days ago

      Russia had no significant gains over the last years with half a million casualties (KIA, MIA, lost limbs, war prisoners), the logistics is crumbling — they use donkeys, the economy and demographic are in the toilet but Russia is extremely good at spreading propaganda. So much so that the US admin is parroting it and putting pressure on Ukraine.

      • UnfortunateShort
        link
        fedilink
        English
        817 days ago

        Don’t you hate on donkeys! They are an excellent mean of transportation on tough terrain. I don’t know in what context russia uses them, but the US do so too :D

        • @TheLunatic@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          717 days ago

          Well that’s the thing, Donkeys are good for rough terrain like the mountains of Afghanistan NOT the flat open plains of ukraine, In ukraine they are just sitting unarmoured ducks.

          • @Gadg8eer@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            217 days ago

            Eh, I’ll take it if we’re talking about actual donkeys and not the Republican party of the US. Did you that, in lieu of a dog, a donkey is a perfect way to protect livestock?

            I’m serious, a predator should think twice; A donkey can grab a cougar’s tail and literally beat it to death by using the wildcat as a living flail. Very protective.

              • @Gadg8eer@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                English
                2
                edit-2
                7 days ago

                Whoops, you’re right. Sorry, my Canadian is showing. Tbf, American politics has always been a necessary thing to know about here.

                Anyone think it’s weird the Republicans would choose an animal associated with Africa and the Indian subcontinent?

                • @Necroscope0@lemm.ee
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  17 days ago

                  They didn’t choose them so much as adopt them. They were assigned by a cartoonist named Thomas Nast in the late 1800’s. He used them to make fun of the parties and people loved his cartoons so much the animals he used just kind of stuck in popular culture for them.

    • @turnip@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1118 days ago

      I’d assume because we are allied with Ukraine, and you’d see the opposite in Russia.

    • @Furbag@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      917 days ago

      Negative stuff does come out from time to time, especially when Russia makes big advances, but the underdog effect means that Ukraine typically gets more attention and media coverage for their successful military operations. Russia has had scant few successes over the past few years so they are spreading propaganda that make them look as if they are winning which is getting picked up and parroted by Trump and other neo-fascists in the West.

    • @Scott_of_the_Arctic@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      417 days ago

      Because Russia doesn’t go after strategic targets. Only civilians and because (at least in Europe) the vast majority of people fucking hate Russia. Especially countries that share a border with them or used to be part of the soviet union. Nobody hates Russia more than Russians who have managed to get out though. I had a russian colleague who basically gave up on seeing his family until after the war was over and he has no intention of ever living there after.

    • @LoveSausage@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      -3118 days ago

      Mostly since the oligarchs in the western camp wants you to see their propaganda. It would be the other way around if you relocated. But if you really want you can find better sources.

      • Kami
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1318 days ago

        Link some of those sources then.

        • @LoveSausage@discuss.tchncs.de
          link
          fedilink
          English
          -3318 days ago

          Nah , you got internet. Do some work to keep yourself informed. I think it’s funny that this is the line here and at the same time negotiating deal is better for Russia than they suggested themselves multiple times. It’s in the mainstream now so you shouldn’t have any issues finding it. But I’m sure your copium can make the coup regime in ukraine winners here as well lol

          • pancakes
            link
            fedilink
            English
            19
            edit-2
            17 days ago

            It’s always the shadiest, most conspiratorial people that refuse to provide sources and say “jUsT gOoGLe iT”.

            Provide sources or you simply will not be taken seriously, and overall look like an embarrassment.

            • @LoveSausage@discuss.tchncs.de
              link
              fedilink
              English
              -2317 days ago

              Nah not really it’s mostly sad conspiracy people that follow propaganda and take it for facts. Do some work you can do it.

              I’m happy to discuss the fact that the start of the leaked negotiatings are better than what Russia’s demands was before.

              If you don’t believe sure , you will just need to wait until it’s undeniable. But as said I’m sure even if Ukraine was flattened and a nuclear wasteland it would be a win for you somehow.

              • @Triasha@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                317 days ago

                This is evidence that the white house is riddled with Russian plants/propaganda not that the reality on the front is worse for Ukraine than we thought.

                We always knew it was bad. It has never been good for Ukraine. If it ever gets good for Ukraine you will see Russians retreating. Nobody knows where that point is, but they are almost certainly closer today than they were a year ago.

              • pancakes
                link
                fedilink
                English
                216 days ago

                So no source? Not even a link? Just mindlessly spouting off?

                Got it, I guess I wasted my time responding in the first place.

            • ArxCyberwolf
              link
              fedilink
              English
              217 days ago

              Sources are for shitlibs. Hexbearites like Lovesausage are above such trivial matters like facts and reality.

                • @dickalan@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  16 days ago

                  Shitlibbbbb. Dude, get a new word, or do you like repeating yourself on every Lemmy instance you find yourself on, you’re just a deranged little weirdo and it shows

  • @Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2518 days ago

    I hope the shrapnel flew everywhere. Kudos to Ukrainian drone pilots. Fuck the Muscovites and their foreign supporters.

  • nkat2112
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2418 days ago

    Thank you for this glorious news! I love it!

  • @frezik@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2217 days ago

    Initial reports indicate that the site, previously protected by one of Russia’s densest air defense networks, suffered catastrophic damage.

    Good chance Ukraine could hit the Kremlin if they wanted to. They have drones with the 500 mile range to pull it off, and Russian air defense has become a joke. The only thing that’s been stopping them was US worries about actions like that causing escalation. Ukraine has had less and less reason to care what the US thinks of late.

    • @boonhet@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      417 days ago

      Honestly, hitting the Kremlin may actually cause nuclear escalation. Putin’s ego would not survive the hit. Zelenskyy probably realizes this too, he’s not stupid.

        • @boonhet@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          717 days ago

          It’s the age old principle of “If I can’t have it, nobody can” that I’m afraid of the most. Anyone reasonable wouldn’t go by it, but if Putin is afraid he’s gonna die, he might as well.

  • @eronth@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2018 days ago

    What, like, percent of stored munitions would this likely be? How impactful of a destruction is it?

    • @Metz@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      30
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      It’s hard to find reliable data about that. The last good information is from 2022 and says that Russia has stored around 1 million tons of ammunition. That would mean Ukraine just wiped out 26% of everything Russia had.

      However, since it is very likely that Russia has produced a lot more since the war began, it’s hard to tell how much they actually lost today.

      The only other number I could find was one that says that each day Russia uses around 26000 rounds of ammunition (artillery).

      And since I’m a lazy fuck that is already lying in bed and I only have my smartphone here, I’ll let AI do the estimates and calculations.

      Under the premise that most things in that depot was artillery ammo, and we roughly know the weight of a round and as said how much they use per day we can estimate they burn through 1218 tons of ammunition per day.

      That would mean Ukraine just destroyed around 220 days of ammunition.

      But as said, that’s just a wild guess based on some very vague numbers that I don’t have double checked now.

      • @Valmond@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1418 days ago

        Wasn’t it around 10.000 rounds of artillery at the start of thf full scale invasion and now it’s a bit lower like 5-6.000?

        • @Metz@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          1218 days ago

          That may very well be. Ukraine managed to destroy quite a lot depots already, as far as I remember. And Russia had already problems of keeping up either way because of lack of specific resources, I think.

          Something along that line. This display is too small and my fingers too fat to actually check that right now.

      • Tarquinn2049
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1418 days ago

        Ukraine themselves reports it at 105ktons of munitions destroyed. And honestly, I trust their remote intel better than russias direct intel on how much it was. Hehe.

  • Cyrus Draegur
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2018 days ago

    If Russia truly has fucked its entire workforce into conscription, they may have to pull forces off the frontlines in order to manufacture replacements for lost equipment and munitions.

    • @mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      they’ve torn through a tremendous amount of the soviet reserve hardware they had.

      but also have lost over a hundred thousand people, which is gonna hurt any workforce.

      woohoo keep going Ukraine!

      • @Sonor@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        317 days ago

        wasn’t it like 1 million? i know it differs on how you count it, and the wounded and all, but 100k, while a lot, is one tenth of the reported numbers since the beginning.