Maxar’s Satellite Photographs Show The Redeployment Of Russian Military Convoy Outside Kyiv
The enormous Russian military convoy that has been stalled outside Ukraine’s capital Kyiv for over a week has been redeployed, according to new satellite pictures, with artillery – possibly rocket launchers – moving into firing positions.
The photographs, which were shot Thursday and provided to Global News by the American satellite technology company Maxar, also reveal the extensive damage the Kyiv region has sustained as soldiers approach the invasion’s primary target.
Over a week ago, the Russian convoy had pushed as far as the Antonov airport in Hostomel, northwest of Kyiv, which was reported to be nearly 65 kilometers (40 miles) long.
However, due to fuel and food shortages, the convoy has been stalled in the same place since, allowing Ukrainian resistance fighters to destroy vehicles and men, according to Western intelligence.
While elements of the convoy remain stretched along the highway on the outskirts of the capital, Maxar’s recent photographs suggest that some vehicles have placed themselves in the forests and neighboring fields. Resupply vehicles were also observed.
The photographs show artillery vehicles in firing positions some 40 kilometers northwest of the city, including what appear to be rocket launchers.
Moscow is hell-bent on conquering Kyiv and other key cities to destabilize Ukraine’s democratic government.
However, three weeks into the invasion, the Russian military has made little progress. Despite regular shelling and the likely deaths of hundreds of inhabitants, heavily besieged cities continue to resist occupation.
While cities around the country have been hit, including Mariupol, where children’s hospital and maternity department were targeted on Wednesday, the worst strikes have been in the Kyiv area.
The photographs show a long line of people and vehicles attempting to flee Irpin, which has been destroyed by Russian artillery, only to be stopped by a damaged bridge that joins the two roads to Kyiv.
Officials in Irpin and other communities have been exploring ways to evacuate inhabitants through humanitarian corridors. Despite ongoing shelling, that has violated the interim ceasefires; tens of thousands of people have been able to flee Irpin and other cities.
The photographs also show extensively damaged residential high-rise structures in Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv, as well as wrecked warehouse buildings in Stoyanka, western Kyiv.
Fuel tanks on fire at the Antonov airport, which is still the scene of intensive battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces, also emitted thick black smoke.
Military equipment was also visible in the photos.
Maxar also acquired a photograph of a big retail center in the northern city of Chernihiv, some 50 kilometers east of the Belarusian border, before and after it was demolished in an alleged Russian strike.
Fires were also blazing in an industrial sector in the city’s south, according to photos.
Potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have yet to make any progress as of Thursday, with the country’s foreign ministers failing to agree on any parameters during their first meeting in Turkey.
Over two million people are thought to have fled Ukraine, resulting in Europe’s worst refugee crisis since WWII.
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