The Defeat of the 51st GRAU Arsenal: Which Other Weapons Depots Have Been Attacked in Russia
Kyiv • UNN
On April 22, explosions rang out at the 51st GRAU arsenal in the Vladimir region of the Russian Federation. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have already hit a number of GRAU arsenals, including the 67th, 23rd, 107th and 13th.
Yesterday, April 22, explosions occurred in the Kirzhach district of the Vladimir region at the 51st arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which was almost completely destroyed. UNN tells what is known about the 51st GRAU arsenal, as well as which other arsenals were hit by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Details
51st GRAU Arsenal
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council, Andriy Kovalenko, reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine blew up a Russian ammunition depot in the Krzhatsky district of the Vladimir region of the Russian Federation. According to him, this morning, as a result of secondary detonation of ammunition, the arsenal was almost completely destroyed.
It is not known for sure what exactly could be stored at the arsenal, but, according to Kovalenko, about 105 thousand tons of weapons could be stored there. In particular, significant stocks of artillery shells, missiles of various types, including Iskander, Tochka-U, Kinzhal, militants for the Pantsir-S1, S-300, S-400 complexes, as well as Grad, Smerch, Uragan.
What is known about the arsenal
The 51st GRAU arsenal is located almost 100 km from Moscow and about 570 km from Ukraine. It was believed that this was quite a difficult target for the Ukrainian military, because it is located at the minimum distance from Moscow, under the protection of the most concentrated air defense system in the entire Russian Federation.
OSINT analysts reported that the arsenal was attacked by strike drones, but it is not known for sure what caused the strike, as Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the strike.
In 2009, Russian media reported that the total area of the arsenal is 502 hectares, of which the technical territory, that is, the place where military equipment and workshops are located, is 310 hectares. The length of the perimeter of the technical territory is 8.4 km. 14.2 km of railway tracks and 15.3 km of roads have been laid through the territory of the arsenal.
It was then reported that the arsenal is primarily intended for receiving missiles and ammunition from manufacturing plants and troops, their assembly, storage and conservation.
Here, missiles and ammunition are assembled, their regulated maintenance is carried out, missiles and ammunition are refined, ammunition is repaired and brought to final and non-final equipment. From here, missiles and ammunition are sent to their destination
At that time, the warehouse could hold more than 256 thousand tons of ammunition. There is no more recent data on the arsenal and its contents in open sources.
GRAU warehouses hit by Ukraine
67th GRAU Arsenal
In October last year, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that on the night of October 9, the Defense Forces of Ukraine inflicted fire damage on the 67th Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in the Bryansk region. The warehouse contained, in particular, ammunition from North Korea, as well as KABs.
Already in November of the same year, the arsenal was attacked again. This arsenal is the closest to Ukraine, as it is located only about 120 km from Ukraine. Satellite images from 2019 show that some of the ammunition in this warehouse was stored in the open air.
Arsenal with weapons from the DPRK attacked in Bryansk region of Russia19.11.24, 09:15 • 13427 views
23rd Arsenal
In September 2024, drones of the SBU, HUR and SSO wiped out a large warehouse of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation near the village of Toropets, Tver region.
OSINT researcher MT_Anderson reported that at least 58 arsenal facilities and the railway were destroyed or damaged.
The warehouse is located 460 km from Ukraine and has an area of 2.6 square kilometers. Sources of UNN reported that the warehouse contained missiles intended for Iskander operational-tactical missile systems, Tochka-U tactical missile systems, KABs and artillery ammunition.
Before the attack, the arsenal received ammunition from the 1562nd separate anti-aircraft repair and technical base located near the Belarusian city of Osipovichi.
At the same time, missiles for anti-aircraft missile systems arrived from Belarus, and the total volume of cargo was 94 semi-wagons with missile weapons for SAMs in packaging containers, as well as 5 wagons with escort and security.
107th GRAU Arsenal
107th GRAU Arsenal - an arsenal built near the city of Toropets in the Tver region of Russia.
It is located approximately 20 km from the 23rd arsenal. In 2012, Russia launched a program to improve the ammunition storage system in order to avoid storing it in the open air. Funding in the amount of 90 billion rubles was allocated for this program.
The arsenal was modernized in 2018. The arsenal allows to protect stocks of missiles and ammunition from external influence and ensure their safety and explosion and fire safety. The full load of each arsenal storage is up to 240 tons.
On the night of September 18, 2024, the arsenal was attacked, resulting in a fire followed by the detonation of ammunition, later satellite images appeared showing severe damage to the warehouse.
13th GRAU Arsenal
Further north of Toropets, where the 23rd and 107th arsenals are located, is the 13th GRAU arsenal near the village of Kotovi, Novgorod region. It is about 680 km from the border with Ukraine. This warehouse has a total area of about 3 sq. km.
On the night of November 19-20, 2024, a powerful attack was recorded on a military base in the Russian village of Novgorod region, which targeted the 13th GRAU arsenal.
Kovalenko reported that this arsenal stores shells for barrel artillery, mines for mortars, missiles for Grad, Smerch and Uragan MLRS, as well as Iskander missiles, KNDR KN23, anti-aircraft missiles for S-300, S-400, and ammunition for the Tor complex.
