Evidence now on the table suggests that the Ukrainian strike on an arms depot in Russia’s Tver region may have had nothing to do with the “defense” of Ukraine but rather was done on behalf of NATO. It’s being played, however, as part of a PR stunt aimed at pressuring the US to allow the Kiev regime to strike targets deep inside Russia with Western-supplied long range weapons.
One example of this is an analysis of the strike by the neo-con Institute for the Study of War issued late on Sept. 18, the day of the strike, which played on the weakness of the air defenses protecting the facility. “Russian forces may not have addressed vulnerabilities at many logistics facilities within Russia due to the sanctuary space that restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-provided weapons have generated,” the analysis said, [reported]() Business Insider. “The lifting of restrictions on the use of Western systems and the continued development of Ukraine’s own long-range strike capabilities may allow Ukrainian forces to more effectively exploit such Russian vulnerabilities,” the analysts added.
The blogger Simplicius, in a posting that night provided evidence that the Toropets facility has nothing to do with Russian logistics for the special military operation, contrary to Ukrainian claims. First of all, he pointed out that most of the munitions being used in the SMO zone are produced in factories east of the Urals, in Novosibirsk, Perm and elsewhere. “Thus, there is absolutely no reason for Russia to ship that weaponry from east of the Urals to such an ungodly inefficient northwestern location like the 107th arsenal, only to have it shipped further down south to the SMO zone—wasting hundreds if not over a thousand of critical extraneous kilometers; all while there are dozens of other more suitable arsenals... in locations which are far more convenient along ‘direct line’ paths,” Simplicius writes. He includes maps illustrating locations of major arms depots, manufacturing facilities and rail routes in Russia to make his point.
