A massive explosion rocked one of Russia’s largest ammunition depots on 22 April in the village of Barsovo, Vladimir Oblast, roughly 70 kilometres northeast of Moscow. The blast, believed to be caused by a Ukrainian precision strike, destroyed what is estimated to be around six million artillery shells—enough to supply Russian forces for an entire year of fighting.
The depot, known as the 51st Arsenal of Russia’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU), spanned 3.5 square kilometres and reportedly held up to 264,000 tons of various types of munitions, including high explosive artillery shells, anti tank missiles, ballistic rockets, and solid fuelled surface to surface missiles. Some of these were believed to be designed for use in the Iskander and Smerch systems, both key components of Russia’s long range assault capability.
Eyewitnesses in the region captured the initial blast and secondary detonations on video, despite the local governor’s warnings not to record the incident. Flames raged for several days, prompting the evacuation of nearby villages and the closure of the main road between Moscow and Kirzhach. While local officials first claimed there were no casualties, they were soon forced to admit the scale of the crisis.
Although the Ukrainian military has not officially confirmed responsibility, the scale and method of the strike align with Ukraine’s past operations targeting similar facilities deep inside Russia. These high precision attacks, often linked to Ukraine’s long range weapon system Palianytsia, unveiled last year, have played a major role in weakening Russia’s battlefield capabilities.
Palianytsia missiles, with a range exceeding 700 kilometres and warheads weighing between 50 and 100 kilograms of TNT, are designed specifically for such strategic operations. These missiles have proven effective in hitting targets far from the front line while creating chain reactions due to Russia’s poor ammunition storage safety protocols.
Since the start of the full scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has successfully hit multiple major Russian ammunition depots. One earlier strike at the 107th depot in Toropets reportedly destroyed around 50,000 tons of munitions. According to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, these attacks have slashed the rate of Russian artillery fire in half.
