What was stored at the Russian arms depot in Tver region struck by Ukraine's drones?

A Ukrainian drone attack on a significant Russian weapons stockpile in the Tver region in the early hours of Wednesday might be the Ukrainian army's biggest hit against Moscow's arsenal since early 2022.

The blast from the strike was so strong that earthquake monitoring stations picked it up as if it were a minor earthquake, while NASA reported a series of heat sources spotted by its equipment from space.

The facility in Toropets is estimated to have stored around 30,000 tonnes of military munitions. The destruction of the ammunition that was stored there will most likely negatively affect the northern operational group of the Russian army.

But what is the Russian military storage facility in Toropets and how important is it?

Renovated in 2018, the facility in Toropets is estimated to have stored tonnes upon tonnes of military goods, including explosives, artillery shells and ballistic missiles.

The former Russian deputy defence minister Dmitry Bulgakov — who was arrested earlier this year on corruption charges — said after the renovations that the site met the "highest international standards" and could defend weapons from missiles and "even a small nuclear attack".

The storage site covered an area of over 5 square kilometres in size and a perimeter of more than 12 kilometres long. 

The town of Toropets is situated around 470 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border and the destruction of the ammunition that was stored there will most likely negatively affect the northern operational group of the Russian army, including the supply of troops in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk.

According to Ukrainian sources, the military site in Toropets reportedly housed fuel tanks, as well as missiles intended for Iskander missile systems,