Satellite images taken today show new mobilizations in western Russia, many of them just 16 km from the Ukrainian border and less than 80 km from Ukraine’s Kharkiv city, according to a private US company.
Footage showed field movements, military convoys, artillery and armored vehicles with support equipment and soldiers. Footage released by Maxar Technologies, which has been tracking Russian military construction for weeks, could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Maxar said today that most troops and equipment were deployed in small unit-sized formations along farm and tree lines.
Yesterday, images from the US company showed a new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of military tents in southern Belarus, near the border with Ukraine.
Ukraine declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and Moscow said eastern separatists had sought help to quell “aggression” as the United States stepped up efforts to halt an all-out offensive by imposing new sanctions.
Russia has consistently denied plans to invade its neighbour, but President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops to restore peace in eastern Ukraine, after Moscow declared the separate regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent. was recognized.
