Katherine Hersch Profile picture
Apr 25 26 tweets 25 min read
One or more fuel depots in #Bryansk, #Russia are on #fire after residents in the area reported hearing explosions. Bryansk is in the area of Russia near both the Belarus & Ukrainian borders (about 100 km from both). Will post more as furter info comes in.
The fires currently burning in #Bryansk, #Russia. 2/
Video of the fire in #Bryansk, #Russia 3/
The Russian newswire TASS is confirming the fire in #Bryansk, #Russia, saying it started at 2:00 a.m. Moscow time Monday. No cause of the fire is given in the article, and it only mentions one fire, not two.
tass.ru/proisshestviya…
Work already has been done on geolocating the two fires in #Bryansk, #Ukraine. These images show the fires to be at two rather sizable fuel depots.
One of the best photos I've seen thus far in terms of giving a sense of how immense the fuel depot fires in #Bryansk, #Russia are. 6/
Potential causes of the #fires in #Bryansk, #Russia:
1. Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles (120 km range, so they could make it, but that would be a sad commentary on the state of Russia's air defense)
2. Sabotage by Ukrainian special forces or agents
3. Russian false flag operation. 7/
More on #sabotage (not missiles) as possible cause of the #fires in #Bryansk, #Russia: sabotage could be via:
1. Explosives (directly cause fire, or interrupt depot processes, leading to fire)
2. Hacking of depot control systems (disrupt operations in way that causes fires). 8/
Most of the reports related to the #Bryansk, #Russia #fires also mention large #explosions having been heard. I have not seen anything definitive indicating whether the explosions occurred prior to the fires, or simply as a result of the fires. 9/
More on potential causes of #Bryansk fuel depot #fires in #Russia: Obviously, Ukrainian fighter jets or attack helicopters could be the cause.
Recall that Ukrainian helicopters likely caused the fuel depot fires in Belgorod, Russia early this month.
Map showing location of #Bryansk, #Russia, where there were two major fuel depot #fires overnight. 11/
The sun is rising over #Bryansk, #Russia. Here is a photo showing the city in the early morning hours after the fuel depot #fires overnight.
#Drones also have to be included as a potential way Ukraine could have attacked the fuel depots that exploded / caught #fire in #Bryansk, #Russia. (Thank you, @Mina65543669, for mentioning that; I apreciate everyone's patience as I think through all this in real time!) 13/
Another photo of #Bryansk, #Russia in the early morning hours. The fuel depot #fires that started overnight are still burning in the background.
Two things about the #Bryansk, #Russia #fires that I am seeing mentioned but am still researching:
1. One of the fuel facilities that was hit plays a key role in the export of oil from Russia to western Europe.
2. A military base / ammunition depot in Bryansk also was hit. /15
(Note: About 30% of Russian natural #gas sent to Western Europe flows through pumps & pipes in #Ukraine. And it's still flowing even though Ukraine could shut it off if it wanted to. Keep that in mind when thinking about what may have been hit in the #Bryansk, #Russia fires.) 16/
So one of the facilities that experienced #fires & #explosions in #Bryansk, #Russia overnight appears to be a military depot that stores oil in above ground tanks as well as what looks like ammunition. Location: 53.21318610737469, 34.44644440035686 17/
The 2nd major facility that had #fires & #explosions in #Bryansk, #Russia overnight seems to be an oil storage depot & (perhaps) pumping station. This could be a facility involved in pumping oil to W. Europe. (Still checking on that.)
53.225216461390076, 34.45842757716536 18/
The two locations where major #fires appear to have taken place in #Bryansk, #Russia are just 1-2 km from one another (see image below, which includes a scale at the bottom: 1000 feet = 305 meters). 19/
The audio in this video -- ostensibly from #Bryansk, #Russia -- may shed light on what caused one or both major #fires in that city overnight. To my untrained ear, it sounds like something was "incoming" prior to the #explosion and fire. 20/
Here is what Russian TV is saying about the #fires in #Bryansk. (For the Russian speakers among you: is there anything noteworthy being reported in the video?) 21/
It appears that neither #fire in #Bryansk, #Russia at a pumping station for the main Russian oil pipeline to Western Europe, #Druzhba. The Druzhba pipeline passes about 30 km south of Bryansk city (red circle in image below) (image via @DonaldSprunk). 22/
The Russian wire service TASS has updated its article about the #Bryansk #fires to include a photo from the fire. It's certainly not as dramatic as some of the photos and videos of the fires that are available. But it's also far from tame. 23/
tass.ru/proisshestviya…
To me, this analysis of the video I posted earlier from one of the #Bryansk, #Russia fires suggests it resulted from something hitting the area, such as a missile, drone, or rocket fired from an aircraft. 24/
This analysis concludes that the #explosions and #fires in #Bryansk, #Russia were most likely the result of #Bayraktar #TB2 #drone attacks by #Ukraine. 25/
The Russian news service TASS put out some photos a few hours ago of the #fires in #Bryansk, #Russia still burning. This one almost looks like a dystopic science fiction poster.

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More from @ThatKHersch

Apr 25
There are reports of a fire today at an airbase in #Ussuriysk on the far eastern side of #Russia, about 30 miles (50 km) north of Vladivostok. This is an initial video. I'll use this 🧵 to track news and other information about it.
This is a map giving the general location of #Ussuriysk, #Russia, where there are initial reports of a fire today at an airbase. Image
There is an initial geolocation of the #fire at the #airbase in #Ussuriysk, #Russia based on FIRMS (heat-based satellite) data: 43.926833016066254, 131.93714760608663 (HT @BertvdLingen) ImageImage
Read 5 tweets
Apr 24
The latest (April 24) @TheStudyofWar / @criticalthreats update on the war in #Ukraine is out. Here's the link. Key takeways, verbatim from the report, to follow in additional threaded posts. 1/ understandingwar.org/backgrounder/r…
@TheStudyofWar @criticalthreats Key Takeaways (verbatim from report):

1. "Russian forces continued to pressure Ukrainian defenders in the Azovstal facility in Mariupol." 2/
Key Takeaways (contd.):

2. "Ukrainian sources report that Russian troops are preparing to conduct renewed assaults on Azovstal that would likely prove costly - possibly to meet a Kremlin-imposed deadline to clear Mariupol - but ISW cannot independently confirm these reports." 3/
Read 6 tweets
Apr 24
U.S. secretary of defense #Austin and secretary of state #Blinken are now in #Kyiv meeting with Ukrainian president #Zelensky, said Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych in an interview on Ukrainian TV
apnews.com/article/russia…
Some people apparently are questioning whether U.S. cabinet members #Blinken and #Austin have actually met with Ukrainian president #Zelensky in #Kyiv today. Here is a relevant update:
One of the first full reports of what was discussed and decided when U.S. secretary of defense Austin and secretary of state Blinken met Sunday with Ukrainian president Zelensky. Lots to unpack ... stay tuned. 3/
apnews.com/article/russia…
Read 9 tweets
Apr 24
The New York Times yesterday published a long article about former German chancellor Gerhard #Schroeder, whose continuing close ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin have essentially destroyed his reputation in the West. 1/
nytimes.com/2022/04/23/wor…
Schroeder was interviewed for the lengthy Times article. One statement he made during the interview captures a key reason he's become a pariah: "I don’t do mea culpa," he told the Times. "It’s not my thing." 2/
Two things from the Times Schroeder article I didn't know.

1. Schroeder has two adopted children that originally are from Russia. 3/
Read 4 tweets
Apr 24
It hasn't been discussed that much, but #Kharkiv in eastern #Ukraine has suffered enormous damage the past several weeks due to Russian shelling and missiles. Here are some links and thoughts related to what has been going on there. 1/
A quick thread with some perspective on the damage #Kharkiv has suffered has been put together by @Tomthescribe: 2/
The Wall Street Journal recently published a lengthy article by @yarotrof that described the devastation #Kharkiv has suffered and how residents there are coping with the destruction. The article includes numerous photos.
wsj.com/articles/in-ob…
Read 7 tweets
Apr 24
Here is today's (Apr 23) #Ukraine war update from @TheStudyofWar and @criticalthreats. Key takeaways (verbatim from report) in the rest of the posts in this short🧵. 1/
understandingwar.org/backgrounder/r…
@TheStudyofWar @criticalthreats Key Takeaways (verbatim from report):

1. "Russian forces continued their pressure on the Azovstal facility in Mariupol."
2. "Russian troops drawn from the retreat from Kyiv are re-entering combat in eastern Ukraine." 2/
Key Takeaways (contd.):

3. "Russian forces from around Mariupol are redeploying to the vicinity of Donetsk City and are likely to enter combat again soon and without rest or refit." 3/
Read 6 tweets

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