Ammunition Depot Near Moscow On Fire, Ukrainian Sabotage Suspected

A major Russian military ammunition depot, located just 60 kilometers east of Moscow, caught fire and experienced a series of explosions on April 22, with early indications pointing to possible Ukrainian sabotage.

The depot, officially known as the 51st Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) of the Russian Ministry of Defense, was one of the country’s most fortified munitions storage sites. The facility, located near the village of Barsovo in the Vladimir region, had a designed capacity of 264,000 tons of varied weaponry and was considered a strategic military asset.

Russian local officials, including Vladimir Oblast Governor Aleksandr Avdeyev, confirmed the incident. A state of emergency was declared in the Kirzhachsky district, with nearby villages evacuated and access to the area restricted. Governor Avdeyev warned against circulating unofficial reports, signaling the incident's sensitivity.

Eyewitnesses and Russian social media footage showed large fireballs, a thick column of smoke, and sustained secondary detonations. The explosions were reportedly heard across the region, and locals claimed they heard drone-like sounds shortly before the blasts.

According to some reports citing Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), preliminary data indicates that around 105,000 tons of ammunition were present at the time of the incident. Stored munitions included artillery shells, air defense missiles for systems like the S-300 and S-400, and tactical ballistic missiles such as Iskander and Tochka-U.

Analysts say the detonation pattern and scale suggest the involvement of solid-fuel missiles and MLRS projectiles, implying the explosions impacted a wide range of weapons systems.

The facility is being described by certain news outlets as “one of the most difficult targets” for Ukrainian forces to hit, given the depot’s proximity to Moscow and its heavy protection. The 51st Arsenal was previously targeted in late 2024, and other GRAU facilities have also been hit in earlier Ukrainian long-range operations.

The site, which spans 3.5 square kilometers, held 45 enclosed storage buildings and 30 open sites, and served both as a storage and maintenance hub for a broad arsenal of Russian munitions.

No official casualty figures have been released, and the full extent of damage remains unknown.