Ukrainian forces conducted a successful drone strike against a Russian missile and ammunition depot near Toropets, Tver Oblast on September 18. A source in the Ukrainian special services told Ukrainian publication Suspilne on September 18 that drone operators from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Main Service of Ukraine, the Directorate of Military Intelligence (GUR) and the Special Operations Forces (SSO) of Ukraine, were hit an object in the 107th arsenal of the Main Missile Artillery Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).
The facility stores various types of munitions and that there were significant secondary detonations after the initial strike by a Ukrainian drone. This was stated by the head of the Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation Andriy Kovalenko.
Russian authorities have temporarily evacuated the area near the facility.
This is stated in an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russian bloggers have criticized Russian authorities for mishandling the facility's stocks of missiles and artillery ammunition. They accused detained former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Army General Dmitry Bulgakov of involvement in corrupt practices and poor construction at the facility.
Ukrainian forces conducted a series of HIMARS strikes against Russian munitions depots in occupied Ukraine in the summer of 2022, impairing the effectiveness of Russian logistics at the time.
This can happen now.
Russian authorities have arrested the head of the armored service of the Central Military District (CMO) Denis Putilov on suspicion of receiving a large bribe. This is the next case against a high-ranking Russian military officer after the appointment of Andrey Belousov in April 2024 as the Minister of Defense of Russia.
The Russian Investigative Committee announced that the data was about a bribe of 10 million rubles ($107,000) in exchange for issuing contracts for the repair and maintenance of military vehicles to an individual entrepreneur named "Chudinov."
Putilov is very likely to have been closely involved in overseeing the repair and maintenance of the package of tanks and other armored vehicles that the 90th Panzer Division uses in combat operations in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of Belousov's term as Minister of Defense in April 2024, such cases of corruption against senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) have become much more frequent. An apparent campaign to deal with mismanagement under former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Putilov's ties to Shoigu remain unclear for now, but his arrest suggests he is trying to crack down on corrupt officials who are responsible for maintaining Russian military assets, especially increasingly scarce armored vehicles.
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A failed armed attack on several offices of Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries in Moscow City highlights the weaknesses of Russia's internal stability. Vladislav Bakalchuk, co-founder and ex-husband of CEO Tatiana Bakalchuk, along with 20 to 30 armed accomplices, carried out simultaneous armed attacks on two offices in Moscow.
The attackers shot and killed at least two Wildberries security guards and wounded two other people before being taken into custody. 28 people involved in the attack were detained.
The Bakalchuks filed for divorce in July 2024 after Vladislav approached Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to help prevent Tatiana from taking over Wildberries, and Kadyrov promised to help.
Wildberries has previously been involved in cracking down on migrants in Russia and forcing migrants to join the Russian military.
Russian authorities tried to present themselves as solving domestic security problems after the terrorist attack on "Crocus City Hall" in March 2024 and the shooting in June 2024 in Dagestan.
Armenian officials continue to criticize the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) amid deteriorating bilateral relations. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on September 18 that Armenia had frozen its membership in the CSTO due to the bloc's failure to fulfill its security obligations to Armenia and that, in his view, the CSTO was a threat to "security, future existence, sovereignty and statehood."
Pashinyan said that if the CSTO fails to provide answers to the reasons for its failures, Armenia will continue to distance itself from the security organization and will likely reach a "point of no return". Pashinyan previously announced on August 31 that Armenia had frozen its participation in the CSTO, although he has yet to specifically announce a formal de jure Armenian withdrawal from the organization.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied to Pashinyan that the CSTO serves to protect the sovereignty of all its member states, including Armenia.
This controversy came amid the Armenian Investigative Committee's September 18 announcement of the arrest of three individuals accused of attempting to create an armed group to overthrow the Armenian government.
The Armenian Investigative Committee said the three suspects, along with four accomplices not yet in Armenian custody, recruited Armenian citizens for paid three-month military training at the "Arbat" military base. in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov region. ISW has not been able to confirm the location of this base, but has previously observed a deterioration in relations between Armenia and Russia. After the second Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Armenia's recently intensifying pro-European foreign policy under Pashinyan.
Armenian officials have repeatedly criticized the CSTO for failing to meet Armenia's security needs - particularly blaming Russia and Belarus - while Russian officials and the Russian media have increasingly discredited Pashinyan's government, accusing him of that it pursues an allegedly destructive pro-Western agenda aimed at straining their bilateral ties.
The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, condemned Israel for the simultaneous detonation of thousands of pagers belonging to members of the Lebanese "Hezbollah" in Lebanon and Syria on September 17. Russia continues to join the Iranian Axis of Resistance against Israel. Zakharova called the attack "another act of hybrid war against Lebanon" and warned that the circumstances risk further escalating the situation.