The destruction of one of Russia's largest and best-defended arsenals

This Tuesday, Russia may have suffered one of its hardest blows since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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The Russian government acknowledges that there was an explosion at an arsenal

Yesterday, at 10:00 PM CET, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the following via its Telegram channel:

On April 22, as a result of a fire on the territory of a military unit in the Vladimir region, ammunition stored in a depot detonated. Firefighters from the military unit and the Ministry of Emergency Situations responded to extinguish the fire. On the instructions of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, a commission was established under the leadership of the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Colonel General A.M. Bulyga.

At 3:28 PM CET, the independent Russian Telegram channel Astra published this information along with three videos of the explosion:

Explosions are heard near a military unit in the Kirzhach district of the Vladimir region, local channels report.

The highway from Moscow to Kirzhach is reportedly blocked.

Local residents report that smoke from the explosions can be seen over the village of Barsovo. The arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, military unit 11785, is located there.

Here you can see one of the videos of the explosion published by Astra:

Explosions reported near military base in Kirzhachsky district, Vladimir region — local media

A road leading from Moscow to Kirzhach has reportedly been blocked.

Residents say smoke from the explosions can be seen above the village of Barsovo. The area houses the Arsenal of the… pic.twitter.com/H1soMmk1R4

— ASTRA (@ASTRA_PRESS) April 22, 2025

A Russian channel claims that “the ammunition depot exploded”

At 19:58 CET, the Russian Telegram channel Vladimir Region News published a report on the explosion in the Kirzhach district, stating:

As a result of an emergency, an ammunition depot caught fire on the territory of a military unit in the Kirzhach district. The ammunition depot exploded.

According to this media, "there were no deaths as a result of the incident, but four people were injured."

The 51st GRAU, one of Russia's largest and best-defended arsenals

At 7:17 PM CET, Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that the ammunition depot had been attacked by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, adding:

On April 22, 2025, powerful explosions occurred at the 51st arsenal near the village of Barsovo. The warehouse stored up to 264,000 tons of ammunition, including solid-fuel missiles and rockets. The arsenal was protected by one of the most powerful air defense systems in the Russian Federation.

On Twitter, Exilenova+ said the explosion could be seen over 60 kilometers away. According to the Ukrainian account Special Kherson Cat at 6:24 PM CET yesterday, ammunition stored in the depot has reached a distance of up to 10 kilometers from the explosion site. At 7:24 PM CET, OSINT Intuit published this compilation of videos of the incident:

04/22/2025: Compilation of additional videos showing the 51st GRAU (Main Missile and Artillery Directorate) ammunition depot exploding and on fire near #Kirzhach, Vladimir Oblast, Russia.#OSINT pic.twitter.com/Oxe0a0g9S3

— OSINT Intuit 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 🇬🇪 (@UKikaski) April 22, 2025

The 51st Arsenal of the Main Directorate of Missiles and Artillery of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (GRAU), which is the official name of the facilities that were blown up yesterday in Kirzhach, was one of the largest ammunition depots in Russia.

Ukraine had already attacked the 51st GRAU in the fall of 2024.

Yesterday, the Ukrainian online newspaper Defense Express reported that Ukraine had already attacked that arsenal in the fall of 2024 and noted that it is on the verge of 60 kilometers east of Moscow, and 530 kilometers from Ukrainian territory: "Its approximate area is 3.5 square kilometers." That website, which specializes in defense issues, added:

The available videos show a rather huge detonation. At the same time, given the nature of the explosion, it likely involved the detonation of solid-propellant missiles, including anti-aircraft and/or ballistic missiles, as well as rockets for multiple launch rocket systems.

It is known that the 51st GRAU arsenal had 45 storage facilities and 30 ammunition storage sites. The design capacity is up to 264,000 tons of various ammunition. It is unknown how many were present at the time of the attack. New videos show ongoing detonations, while russians report repeated powerful explosions.

Like any other GRAU arsenal, it is not narrowly specialized and is designed to store a full range of munitions, from artillery shells and ATGMs to anti-aircraft and ballistic missiles, and tactical missile systems. At the same time, the arsenal is designed not only for storage but also for the maintenance of munitions.

This outlet believes that "the destruction of this arsenal could be considered the most difficult operation to date." Official channels of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not yet confirmed whether the explosion was the result of a Ukrainian attack.