Videos Show Major Explosion as Russian Ammunition Depot Destroyed

Footage has shown a huge explosion in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region after Kyiv said it had targeted a Russian ammunition base in Moscow-held territory.

"As a result of the effective fire impact of the units of the Defense Forces, another formation of Russian terrorists in the temporarily occupied Makiivka ceased to exist," Ukraine's military said on Tuesday evening.

Russian state media said on Wednesday that Ukraine had shelled Makiivka, killing at least one man and injuring more than 36 people.

Denis Pushilin, the head of Moscow-backed authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said the Chervonogvardeisky district of the city had been affected, adding: "The blast wave was felt by the majority of residents of Makiivka and Donetsk." Makiivka is located just outside Donetsk City, the main hub of the region.

In videos widely circulating online, including a clip shared by the Ukrainian military's strategic communication office, a fireball reaches into the air and an explosion shakes the camera. In other videos, heavy smoke lingers in the sky.

Another clip, shared by a Ukrainian military blogger, shows an aerial view of a dramatic explosion also attributed to the destruction of the Russian ammunition depot.

Newsweek could not independently verify this footage. The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.

Ukrainian forces previously targeted a military facility in Makiivka in a New Year's strike, killing up to 100 soldiers in a significant loss for Moscow. The city is several miles behind the front lines in Russian-controlled territory, as of Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said Ukrainian forces were working towards the "maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, military vehicles, command posts, artillery and air defense forces of the Russian army."

"The last few days have been particularly fruitful," he added in a post to social media.

In an operational update on Tuesday evening, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said Ukrainian missile and artillery strikes during the day had hit three Russian ammunition warehouses.

This comes as Ukraine looks to gradually wear down Russia's access to military equipment and manpower in Kyiv's ongoing counteroffensive, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Tuesday.

Ukraine had been criticized for the slow pace of gains in the counteroffensive, which Russia said began in early June across eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in mid-June that battlefield progress had been "slower than desired," but added: "What's at stake is people's lives."

"Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It's not," he told the BBC on June 21.

Ukrainian forces are making "steady, gradual advances" but that does not mean Kyiv is incapable of retaking large swaths of territory, the ISW said in its latest update.

Update 07/05/23 at 6 a.m. E.T: This article was updated with additional information and footage.