Ukraine claimed to have destroyed up to 400 Shahed Iranian-style kamikaze drones stashed by Russian forces at a warehouse in Krasnodar region.
A huge inferno at an ammunition depot in Oktyabrsky, near Yeysk, saw new explosions lasting for hours following the pinpoint hit and costing as much as £16 million.
In a separate overnight drone attack in an adjoining region, Ukraine damaged the Khanskaya military airfield in Russia’s Adygea Republic, used for strikes by Vladimir Putin’s forces in the war.
The destruction of the Shahed drones – massively used by the dictator to strike Ukraine – was claimed by Kyiv’s armed forces general staff and SBU intelligence service.
It came the day after ammunition silos containing shells provided by repressive North Korea went up in smoke following a strike at the secret 67th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of Russia’s Ministry of Defence in Karachev, Bryansk region.
The armed forces general staff in Ukraine said its naval forces carried out the strike on the Shahed drone stash along with the SBU.
A statement said: “According to available information, nearly 400 strike drones were stored there. Based on objective control results, a direct hit was made on the target. Secondary explosions were observed at the site.”
An inferno visible from many miles around stretched to 17,200 square feet at the warehouse.
The location is on the Azov Sea coast.
The Russian authorities acknowledged the massive fire but did not specify the cause. A fuel storage facility was believed to be ablaze, and the main buildings at the airport appeared to be destroyed.
An evacuation of a nearby village was announced.
An eyewitness said: “Something is exploding near Oktyabrsk, and it’s very scary.”
Near the strike at Khanskaya, a local said: “Drones attacked the military airfield, there is a real war going on there.”
A male voice said: “We need to get the **** out of here….
“I don’t know what to do, my whole body’s shaking. I’m shaking really bad. I don’t know what to do, it’s horrible.”
The onslaught began at 1am and lasted several hours.
The training base of the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots is located at the airfield.
The major fire was recorded by the NASA satellite monitoring system.
The Russian defence ministry said that 47 drones were destroyed over the Krasnodar region, 12 over the territory of the Kursk region, nine over the Rostov region, and others of Bryansk, Belgorod, Voronezh, and Crimea.
Another 15 were allegedly downed over the Azov Sea.
