Explosion in Tver and US Chip Production

Let me start with the Ukrainian attack on the Toropets ammo depot. First, this seems to be a central logistics hub. This is the photo before it was hit. As you can see, Abd is not a minor facility.

This is the description of the event via Ateo Breaking. And I must say, the video circulating is impressive:

In Toropets, Tver Oblast, a fire started due to the fall of UAV debris during the repulse of an attack by air defense forces. All emergency services and the leadership of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation for the Tver Oblast have arrived at the scene. Work is underway to localize the fire, — Governor of the Tver Oblast Igor Rudenya

Local residents report that an ammunition depot is burning. The population of the territory adjacent to the depots has begun to evacuate.

Now, what exactly did Ukraine use? It does not seem to be a UAV. This is via Yigal Levin. And in my mind, it may be the beginning of the next phase of the war:

A vigilant correspondent from the field in the Tver region records an interesting sound, characteristic of jet aircraft. Probably, Ukraine used Storm Shadow that very same cruise missile “Palyanytsya” of its own production.

We have had hints that Ukraine had operational systems of local production. Also, the Brits lifted some limits, but we are still afraid of lifting. We are still scared of whatever the Russians threaten to do.

If this was a locally produced missile system, it tells me Ukraine is increasingly independent of us regarding long-range systems. This kind of facility strike can change some of the war’s course.

How large was the explosion? Here is again the description through Levin. I am also posting a screencap from the video:

The Ukrainians’ explosion of the 107th GRAU arsenal in the Tver region really looks like a nuclear explosion, a fucking level of detonation. Here, I’m posting this video separately, without the rubbish that other channels are trying to put on it, as if this is their “exclusive”. The Russians are writing that entire villages are now cut off from the “mainland”, the fire is spreading further with incredible speed, that it can be seen even from space, and monitoring services recorded an earthquake in the Tver region after this explosion.

I remember how the Russians laughed at Ukrainian drones that only “break glass” and threw this into the Ukrainian information space, and someone, greedy for betrayal, even picked it up and disseminated it further. But the point is that this is far from the worst thing that awaits Russia and its residents, after all, there is a warehouse and a couple of villages. I think the worst is yet to come. However, they understand this perfectly well, and that is why Putin and his stable are trying to somehow get out of this war, having staked out the loot for themselves, of course, but get out.

If you have a large enough conventional explosion, you will get a mushroom cloud. This was a large base. This base likely supplied the eastern Ukraine group and the Kursk group. So, should we expect some shell hunger? Probably. It also brings the war closer to home. So remember that when you see this.

Incidentally, that plant may be a victim of Russian corruption as well:

A former deputy defense minister arrested on corruption charges had previously assured of security at a warehouse near Tver that was damaged in a drone attack.

He promised that the facility would meet explosion and fire safety requirements. However, there were suggestions that some of the structures might have been built with violations, or that the funds allocated for materials were used for other purposes.

As usual, Dachas don’t build themselves. This is part of the Shoigu clan that has been facing a purge. In this case, I guess it’s justified. That was one impressive series of explosions.

Now, let’s look at the chips program. Things one learns from reading Telegram. But now I will link to Fortune:

Intel Corp. has officially qualified for as much as $3.5 billion in federal grants to make semiconductors for the Pentagon, according to people familiar with the matter, after the chipmaker reached a binding agreement with US officials.

The secretive program, called Secure Enclave, seeks to establish production for advanced chips with military and intelligence applications. It spans multiple states, including a manufacturing facility in Arizona, Bloomberg has reported.

Though Intel has always been the frontrunner for this award, there’s been pushback from other chipmakers, concern in Washington about the wisdom of relying on one firm, and a funding fight across multiple agencies and Capitol Hill that threatened to cut into Intel’s total award.

The funding could be announced as soon as next week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. It would add to a possible $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans that Intel was awarded in March under the Chips and Science Act, a law that President Joe Biden signed in 2022 to revitalize US semiconductor manufacturing and reduce reliance on Asia.

This is the kind of stuff that made me gripe for years. Our reliance on chips, chiefly from Taiwan, placed us at risk in case of war. Everything, mostly, that the military uses has a chip. Ok, save rifles, but I don’t discount that in the future with things like the Future Warrior project.

We are already seeing this in Ukraine and Gaza with the heavy integration of drones and other robotics. So, being unable to produce chips in the United States is a strategic mistake we are starting to correct. When I saw that in the morning, I figured it was important to share with my readers.