The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assisted Ukrainian forces in planning a drone attack on a weapons depot storing Iskander missiles and glide bombs in Toropets, Tver region (Russia).
That’s according to The New York Times, Ukrinform reports.
U.S. intelligence had identified a vast munitions depot in the lakeside town of Toropets, some 466 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border. Weapons from the depot were being supplied to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and Russia’s Kursk region.
CIA officers shared intelligence about the depot’s munitions and vulnerabilities, as well as Russian defense systems on the way to Toropets. They calculated how many drones the operation would require and charted their circuitous flight paths.
On September 18, a large swarm of drones slammed into the munitions depot. The blast, as powerful as a small earthquake, opened a crater the width of a football field. Videos showed immense balls of flame and plumes of smoke rising above the lake.
On the night of September 17-18, 2024, drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), and Special Operations Forces destroyed a large arms depot belonging to the Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate in Toropets, Tver region.
According to an SBU source, the depot housed missiles for Iskander systems, Tochka-U tactical missile systems, guided aerial bombs, and artillery ammunition.
Source: CIA helped Ukraine plan attack on arms depot in Tver region – NYT
