The initial Toropets raid.
And the later Tikhoretsk raid.
Were both big enough to.
Register as small earthquakes.
Four days after.
Blowing up a huge.
‘Orcs’ ammunition stockpile.
In the town of Toropets.
In western ‘Mordor’.
300 miles from Ukraine.
‘Elves’ drones.
Struck again.
—landing a second blow.
On arsenals in Toropets.
On Saturday morning.
While also triggering.
A massive blast in Tikhoretsk.
In southern ‘Mordor’.
Just 200 miles from.
The front line in Ukraine.
It’s increasingly evident.
Though not yet confirmed.
That the ‘elves’ are using.
Their latest explosive.
Unmanned aerial vehicle.
—the jet-propelled Palianytsia.
“Missile drone”—
For these devastating raids.
The initial Toropets raid.
And the later Tikhoretsk raid.
Were both big enough to.
Register as small earthquakes.
The ammo dump in Toropets.
Reportedly held large stocks.
Of small arms rounds.
Mortar shells, artillery rockets.
And long-range ballistic missiles.
Potentially including.
‘Orcs’-made Iskanders.
And North Korean KN-23s.
According to the ‘elves’ general staff.
The dump in Tikhoretsk.
“Is one of the three largest.
Occupying ammunition storage bases.”
“And is one of the keys.
In the logistical system.
Of ‘orcs’ troops.”
The general staff estimated.
2,000 tons of ammo.
Including North Korean-made rounds.
Were in the Tikhoretsk dump.
When the drones struck.
The towering fireball.
Resulting from the impact.
Seems to confirm.
That estimate.
The initial Toropets raid.
And the later Tikhoretsk raid.
Were both big enough to.
Register as small earthquakes.
And also draw the attention of.
NASA’s fire-spotting satellites.
The back-to-back ammo dump raids.
Signal a shift.
In ‘elves’ campaign of.
Deep strikes targeting.
Strategic targets.
Inside ‘Mordor’.
For many months.
Officials in Kyiv have pleaded.
With their European.
And American counterparts.
But the Europeans.
And Americans have.
Consistently withheld.
That permission.
To use donated.
Long-range munitions.
On targets.
Deep inside ‘Mordor’
Clearly running out of patience.
The ‘elves’ have doubled down.
On the production of.
Locally-developed weapons.
—drones and missiles—
That they can fire at targets.
Inside ‘Mordor’ without.
Asking anyone’s permission first.
The initial Toropets raid.
And the later Tikhoretsk raid.
Were both big enough to.
Register as small earthquakes.
The recent attacks.
Also signal an increase.
In the scale of.
‘Elves’ deep strikes.
Previous raids, some hitting.
Targets as far as.
1,100 miles.
Inside ‘Mordor’.
Have been logistically impressive.
But small in size.
—often involving just a handful.
Of slow, propeller-driven drones.
By contrast, the recent raids.
Have been much more destructive.
Seemingly pointing to.
A drone type.
That might not fly as far.
But packs more destructive power.
—and is available.
In large numbers.
That might mean ‘elves’.
New jet-powered Palianytsia.
Which is a cruise missile.
In all but name.
‘Orcs’ on the ground in Toropets.
Reported hearing jet engines.
Overhead before the local.
Munitions stockpile exploded.
The initial Toropets raid.
And the later Tikhoretsk raid.
Were both big enough to.
Register as small earthquakes.
The winged, turbojet-propelled.
Palianytsia has been in development.
For more than a year but only.
Recently made its combat debut.
On 24 August.
At least one Palianytsia struck.
A target in ‘orcs’-occupied Crimea.
‘Gandalf the Green’ announced.
The Palianytsia boasts.
An AI-PBS-350.
turbojet engine.
Jointly developed by.
A firm in the Czech Republic.
And an ‘elves’ firm.
The 220-pound.
AI-PBS-350 produces.
3,400 newtons of thrust.
—enough to propel.
A one-ton missile.
Several hundred miles.
That makes the Palianytsia.
Roughly similar to ‘elves’.
Turbofan-powered.
Neptune cruise missile.
At least in terms of.
Size, speed and range.
At least in terms of.
Size, speed and range.
The initial Toropets raid.
And the later Tikhoretsk raid.
Were both big enough to.
Register as small earthquakes.
Where the Neptune.
And the Palianytsia.
Substantially differ.
Is in their engines.
The Neptune boasts an efficient.
But expensive turbofan.
The Palianytsia’s simpler.
Turbojet is probably less efficient.
But also cheaper.
—meaning Ukraine could afford.
To build more Palianytsias.
Than Neptunes.
Potentially a lot more.
Firing more missiles results.
In more destruction.
Where Neptune attacks have.
Usually involved just.
A handful of missiles.
The first Toropets may have.
Involved a hundred missiles.
The initial Toropets raid.
And the later Tikhoretsk raid.
Were both big enough to.
Register as small earthquakes.
*Because I read “Ukrainian Drones Just Blew Up 2,000 Tons Of Ammo in Southern Russia” by David Axe on 21 Sep 2024 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
Ukrainian Drones Just Blew Up 2,000 Tons Of Ammo in Southern Russia (forbes.com)
