Ukraine war latest: Drone attack ‘wipes Russian weapons depot off the face of the earth,’ Kyiv says

Key developments on Sept. 18:
Ukrainian drones successfully targeted a weapons depot in Toropets in Russia’s Tver Oblast overnight, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent on Sept. 18.
Photos and videos shared on Russian Telegram channels early on Sept. 18 showed a number of explosions and a large plume of smoke purportedly at the site of an ammunition depot in the town of Toropets.
Tver Oblast Governor Igor Rudenya reported in the morning that a fire had broken out in Toropets due to falling drone debris but claimed the situation was “under control.”
According to the source, drones from the SBU, Ukraine’s military intelligence, and Ukrainian Armed Forces struck a warehouse storing ballistic missiles, including Iskanders, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery ammunition, and KAB guided bombs.
The attack “literally wiped off the face of the earth a large warehouse of the main missile and artillery department of the Russian Defense Ministry,” the source said.
“After the arrival of Ukrainian drones, an extremely powerful detonation began,” and the affected area is 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) wide, the source said.
“The SBU, together with colleagues from the Armed Forces, continues to methodically reduce the missile potential of the enemy, with which it destroys Ukrainian cities.”
The source said that there are plans to conduct similar attacks on other Russian military facilities.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that 54 Ukrainian drones had been downed overnight but did not mention any drones downed over Tver Oblast.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s 8 a.m. report, 27 drones were downed over Kursk Oblast, 16 over Bryansk Oblast, seven over Smolensk Oblast, three over Belgorod Oblast, and one over Oryol Oblast.
French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets destined for Ukraine will be modified to enable them to hit ground targets, the French media outlet Sud-Ouest reported on Sept. 18.
In an article detailing the work being carried out at the Cazaux air base, the outlet said modifications for the aircraft will be performed at the facility.
The Mirage 2000 is a multirole aircraft designed in the late 1970s and introduced in 1984.
The 2000-5 version has upgraded radar systems and can carry fuel drop tanks, greatly increasing its range.
It is a fourth-generation fighter jet, meaning it is in the same class as the U.S.-made F-16.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on June 6 that an unspecified number would be transferred to Ukraine, but did not provide a timeline.
Speaking to French TV after the end of the 80th anniversary of D-Day commemorations in Normandy, Macron also said his country would train Ukrainian pilots.
“Tomorrow we will launch a new cooperation and announce the transfer of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine, made by French manufacturer Dassault, and train their Ukrainian pilots in France,” he said during a live interview.
Russia’s counterattack in Kursk Oblast aiming to retake Ukrainian-held territory has been stopped, a spokesperson of the Ukrainian military administration in the region told AFP on Sept. 18.
The statement comes a week after Moscow launched a counteroffensive against the western flank of Ukrainian troops in the Russian region.
“They tried to attack from the flanks, but they were stopped there,” spokesperson Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi told AFP.
“The situation was stabilized and today everything is under control, they are not successful.”
The spokesperson admitted only “some minor successes” by Russia.
“The Russians entered one of the settlements. They started fighting for another settlement, but that was it,” he said. Russia claimed to have recaptured 10 settlements only on the first day of the counteroffensive, announcing further advances since then.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims.
Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in early Aug. 6, allegedly seizing around 100 settlements and over 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles).
Moscow’s troops launched a counterattack last week in an effort to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their positions on Russian soil.
Russia has not yet commented on Dmytrashkivskyi’s statement but did not mention any new settlements recaptured in its regular update on Sept. 17.
Moscow claimed the same day it had repelled several fresh attempts by Ukraine to cross the border in Kursk Oblast west of the Ukrainian salient.
The Wall Street Journal’s recent claims that 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died during the full-scale war with Russia are “exaggerated,” secretary of the parliamentary defense committee Roman Kostenko told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Sept. 18.
The U.S. outlet wrote on Sept. 17 that according to a “confidential Ukrainian estimate from earlier this year,” Ukraine has suffered 80,000 soldiers killed and 400,000 wounded.
Russian losses were estimated at 200,000 killed and 400,000 wounded, putting the overall casualties of the war to over 1 million.
“I think that these are exaggerated data. Definitely… Namely when talking about the recorded number of (Ukrainian soldiers) killed,” Kostenko said.
Ukraine has largely avoided commenting on its losses, though President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that 31,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed.
“If we look at the past two years, we had roughly the same number – 19,000 each (year). And this is considering only those who were issued official death certificates,” Kostenko said, adding that many are still considered missing.
The lawmaker suggested that 50,000 soldiers killed could be an approximate figure, though he admitted he does not have the most accurate data and that even his number could be an overestimation.
Regarding Ukraine’s ability to continue to defend itself despite the losses, Kostenko believes that the country still has enough men to mobilize and that everything depends on the ability to enlist more troops.
Ukraine has sought to replenish the ranks of its military as the war has been ongoing for two and half years. Kyiv adopted new legislation on mobilization in the spring, lowering the conscription age from 27 to 25 and imposing stricter penalties for dodging draft.
One person has been killed, and four people, including a nine-year-old boy, have been injured during Russian attacks in the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in southeastern Ukraine, Governor Serhii Lysak said on Sept. 18.
The child and two women, aged 43 and 69, were injured during shelling in the city of Marhanets.
Lysak earlier reported that a “kamikaze drone strike” in the city of Nikopol had injured a 42-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman.
In an update later on Sept. 18, Lysak reported the injured man had died.
“Sincere condolences to family and friends,” the governor added.
The Russian army regularly fires on the civilian infrastructure of Ukrainian cities, targeting hospitals, among other facilities.
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least four civilians and injured at least 22 over the previous day, regional authorities reported early on Sept. 18.