Russia halts traffic on highway in Tver region for safety reasons: Reports

Russia temporarily closed the M-9 highway in the western Tver region near the town of Toropets on Saturday to ensure the safety of traffic, Russian news agencies reported, citing a branch of the federal roads agency.

The move came three days after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack triggered a huge blast at a major arsenal near Toropets, forcing the evacuation the town, according to war bloggers and some media.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday it had downed 101 Ukrainian drones overnight, including three over the Tver region.

The roads agency said the highway near Toropets had been closed from 6:40 a.m. local time (0840 GMT) on Saturday, agencies reported. They did not go into further detail on the reasons for the shutdown.