Russia's 'poor weapons handling' likely caused the massive blasts that wiped out much of its 105-ton ammo depot: UK MOD

• Bad weapons handling and retention apt caused Russia's 51st GRAU arsenal to stroke up, the UK MOD said.

• The depot, described arsenic 1 of Russia's largest, suffered terrible harm from immense blasts successful April.

• The MOD said connected Wednesday that Moscow has a past of "ineptitude" with munition safety.

A operation of mediocre weapons handling and atrocious retention practices apt led to the blasts that rocked Russia's 51st GRAU arsenal successful precocious April, the UK Defense Ministry said connected Wednesday.

In an quality update, the ministry estimated that the explosions apt resulted successful the Kremlin's largest nonaccomplishment of its ain munitions owed to its ain troops' actions since the full-scale warfare successful Ukraine began.

"It is highly apt that mediocre weapons handling procedures alongside negligent retention of munitions resulted successful this loss," the ministry wrote.

"This is successful keeping with a long-standing inclination of regularly evidenced Russian ineptitude with regards the harmless and due handling of its ain munitions," it added.

The ammunition depot, astir 50 miles northeast of Moscow and successful the Vladimir region, suffered aggregate explosions aft it caught occurrence connected April 22.

Though it didn't sanction the facility, the Kremlin had said connected the aforesaid time that a occurrence astatine a depot successful the Vladimir portion caused munitions to detonate. The Russian defence ministry's connection blamed the "violation of information requirements erstwhile moving with explosive materials."

Satellite images antecedently obtained by Business Insider past period showed that the Russian arsenal sustained superior damage, with ample portions of the installation affected.

The UK defence ministry said outer images showed that much than 1 quadrate kilometer of the depot had been damaged by the detonations, which suggested "massive losses astatine a cardinal strategical depot supplying Russia's warfare successful Ukraine."

Footage circulating connected societal media of the blast besides appeared to amusement secondary explosions successful the civilian areas astir the ammo depot, which is 1 of Russia's largest.

The UK's defence ministry cited Ukrainian figures that said the 51st GRAU depot held astir 105,000 tons of munitions, including ballistic, air-launched, and aerial defence missiles.

Andriy Kovalenko, the caput of Kyiv's Center for Countering Disinformation, said astatine the clip of the blasts that the depot had besides stored artillery shells.

The aforesaid depot has apt suffered explosive mishaps before. Russian authorities media reported successful June 2022 that 4 radical were killed by the "spontaneous detonation" of a ammunition portion ammo was being loaded and unloaded astatine a depot successful the Vladimir Region.

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