Ukrainian drones suspected in massive arsenal explosions
Explosions at the 51st Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) destroyed a significant portion of the large ammunition depot. Although the Russians do not disclose the extent of the losses, satellite images show the scale of the destruction.
On 22 April 2025, at the 51st GRAU Arsenal, large explosions occurred. The Russians officially claim they were the result of a fire and a "violation of safety rules," while the Ukrainians have not confirmed their involvement in the attack. Nonetheless, the destruction of a large part of the vast ammunition depot is attributed to Ukrainian drones.
Located east of Moscow, the facility covers an area of approximately 2.6 square kilometres and—according to various estimates—enabled the storage of just over 100,000 to nearly 300,000 tonnes of various types of ammunition: artillery shells, rockets for multiple rocket launchers like the Grad, Uragan, and Smerch, aerial munitions and missiles for anti-aircraft systems.
According to Ukrainian sources, the warehouse also contained large stockpiles of Chinese 107 mm rockets intended for the Type 63 launchers.
Destruction at the 51st GRAU Arsenal
Although the Russians do not provide information about the losses incurred, satellite images offer insight into the situation, allowing for a comparison of the facility's appearance before and after the series of explosions. It turns out detonations occurred over a substantial area of the depot, and up to 80 percent of the ammunition stored there may have been destroyed.
The vast scale of destruction is puzzling given how such depots are constructed. The 51st GRAU Arsenal was an area surrounded by an earthen embankment, divided internally into separate compartments, separated by earth barriers.
Ammunition is stored both in open spaces and in concrete bunkers. This organisation of the depot theoretically means that an explosion in one compartment should not cause detonations in adjacent ones, and the energy of the explosion is primarily directed upwards.
Despite this, according to analysts evaluating the aftermath of the explosion, up to 30 compartments and warehouses may have exploded at the 51st GRAU Arsenal, with the central part of the entire facility sustaining serious damage.
