The Russian invasion of Ukraine

Satellite images show Russian military forces continuing to move over the Uzh River. This is due to the construction of a new bridge in place of the damaged bridge.

The Russian incursion placed Ivankiv at a strategic point, located between Chernobyl-which was seized by Russian forces on 24 February-and Kyiv. Ukrainian forces destroyed a bridge in the town on 25 February to stop Russian troops from advancing towards Kyiv. We were able to spot a convoy of Russian vehicles heading towards Ivankiv.

Fighting continues in the vicinity of Izium, which has been under siege for over two weeks. We found damage to a bridge nearby.

Another Damaged Bridge Near Kupiansk.

Our team found artillery vehicles near Chernihiv. The  independent  reports that Russian forces bombed residential areas of the city.

Thousands of people died, and property was destroyed in Ukraine. Chernihiv & Borodyanka are among the towns that have been affected by Russian airstrikes, destroying homes and businesses. Debris littered the streets as buildings were smashed to pieces by bombs.

Reports appeared on social media claiming Belarusian army movements in the Brest region, allegedly to support the Russian army. The Belarusian government later denied that it intended to deploy troops to Ukraine. However, we found a concentration of Belarusian forces outside Brest, close to the Polish-Ukrainian border.

At Engels air force base in central Russia, home of the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment, we found Tu-160 & Tu-95 heavy bombers parked. The Tu-160 and Tu-95MS pose a threat to most of Europe through their capability to carry cruise missiles, including the Kh-101, which has a reported maximum range of 2,480 miles.

An ambush by Ukrainian forces on a Russian armored column in Brovary, a suburb of Kyiv, has been captured on drone video.

The Russian military continues to bomb targets near the airport in Hostomel. Satellite images show damaged buildings and burning fuel storage tanks.

In Belarus, we found 14 combat helicopters at the Pribytki (also known as Zyabrovka) airbase, located 16 kilometers southeast of Gomel in Homiel Voblast. Reports from mid-February claim that those helicopters are part of the new Russian deployment in Belarus.

The airport is 42 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Russian ground forces can use these helicopters as air support in fighting Chernihiv and Kyiv.

Our team located a convoy of Russian armored vehicles near Chernihiv.

In Belarus, two Steregushchiy-class corvettes left the Baltiysk Naval Port. According to previous reports, the port is part of the Russian Baltic Fleet, which hosts four Steregushchiy-class corvettes. 

There are still parked planes at Sheremetyevo International Airport due to forced restrictions on international flights. Publications indicate that the airport will cease passenger service in terminal D on March 15 to optimize and concentrate the northern terminal complex (terminals B and C).

We found an ad hoc military camp in Rudakov, Belarus. The camp is apparently supporting the Russian military operation in Ukraine. There is no documentation that the camp has been a permanent military base in the past. The camp is located about 35 km from the border with Ukraine.

We discovered a Russian military force-building site near Slavene Crimea that was used to build a force ahead of the invasion of Ukraine. From the beginning of last February, media reports revealed that the Russian army had concentrated dozens of combat vehicles on this site. However, the site is now empty, and it appears that the combat vehicles there have gone into combat in Ukraine.

Possible SSM Deployment in Belarus - 200 km from Kiev.

Two Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft were spotted at the Baranovichi Air Force Base in Belarus on March 6. Later, on the 8th of the month, we saw another plane of the same type at the same airport. That's three Russian mission planes operating out of Belarus.

Discoveries from the last few days have to do with the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on 24.2.2022. It appears, however,  that this is a pattern of military action adopted by Russia  before the invasion of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

In those days, these planes arrived in Belarus for a military exercise in the region and stayed for combat. It seems that the same pattern of action was employed in the invasion of Ukraine as well. Planes come to practice - and stay for the war.

In addition to A-50 aircraft, we found Mi-26 transport helicopters made in Russia. Despite the fact that these helicopters are used by Russia and Belarus, previous reports from 2019 indicate that Russia has deployed such at the Baranovichi Air Force Base.  In September 2019, the Russian Army's Zapad exercise provided an example of such deployment .

Mi-26 helicopters are Russian heavy transport helicopters. It is russian largest and most powerful helicopter in serial production, operating both by military and civilian operators. Mi-26 helicopters replaced earlier Mi-6 and Mi-12 heavy lift helicopters.

The main duty of the Mi-26 was transporting military equipment to remote areas, such as armored personnel carriers and mobile ballistic missiles. 

Observations of military airfields in Belarus indicate that two Russian A-50s early-warning intelligence aircrafts (AWACS) are operating from Baranovichi air base, 420 kilometers from Kyiv.

Moscow International Airport is filled with planes waiting to take off. Overt publications claim that Russian airlines are prohibited from flying internationally due to sanctions.

Today marks the eighth day of hostilities in Ukraine. As a result, thousands of refugees are moving towards border crossings to escape the fighting. We were able to document the escape towards the border of Hungary and Slovakia.

Recent EROS-B image captured long traffic jams on the way out of Odessa, Ukraine. Additionally, we have identified flight route blockages that have been positioned along the runway at the Kyiv international airport, apparently to prevent Russian aircrafts from landing..

We found a military base filled with combat vehicles in Kaliningrad. Using such a base would help Russia reinforce its forces.

EROS B collection is not limited to Ukraine and its borders. Since the invasion has started we are closely monitoring civilian and military airfields within Russia, Belarus and other Russian allies.

Today marks the sixth day of hostilities in Ukraine. Despite Russia's threats to raise nuclear alert, our analysts have found no signs of this in Kaliningrad. At a Nuclear warhead storage – No unusual Activity Detected. Furthermore, no unusual activity has been detected at Chkalovsk air base or the Baltiysk Naval Port.

Today we will analyze the battle for Hostomel and the destruction of the Ukrainian Antonov-225.

On February 24, 2022, Russian paratroopers special forces raided the airfield in Hostomel, the northwestern suburb of Kyiv. "The conquest of the Hostomel airfield was announced on Friday, February 25, 2022, by the chief spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry, General Major Igor Konashenkov. The Battle of Antonov Airport, also known as the Battle of Hostomel Airport", according to the   armyrecognition  . 

The world's longest cargo plane was severely damaged during the battle by a Russian attack, Ukraine reported. "The Ukrainian-made Antonov-225 Mriya, meaning The Dream, could cost more than $3billion (£2.24billion) to repair, a sum Ukraine's state arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom said it would try to get Russia to front up", according to the   dailymail  . 

After months of preparation, the Russian army invaded Ukraine on February 24. On the outskirts of Ukraine, the Russian military is estimated to number about 150,000 soldiers. With four axis, the Russian invasion began with the conquest of Kyiv as the primary objective. Since the invasion began, ImageSat International (ISI) intelligence analysts have monitored the situation to provide our customers with situational awareness. As a result, on February 26, we determined that there was no significant damage to infrastructure or buildings using the EROS-B Very High-Resolution satellite.

Russian forces entered the outskirts of Kyiv last Friday and were threatening the Ukrainian capital from the north-west and east in a lightning attack apparently aimed at seizing the city.

"Intense gunfire broke out on a bridge across the Dnieper River dividing eastern and western Kyiv, with about 200 Ukrainian forces taking defensive positions and sheltering behind their armoured vehicles and under the bridge. Another key bridge leading to the capital was blown away, with smoke rising from it"', according to the guardian.

Kyiv's Igor Sikorsky International Airport is one of two passenger airports in the Ukrainian capital, the other being Boryspil International Airport. Since the beginning of the fighting, the airport has become a target for the Russian military.

FlightRadar24  reported  that on 24.2.2022, the first fighting day, a limited number of jets were on the ground at Kyiv Boryspil or Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport. Two days later, Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said in a Facebook post that a rocket hit a high-rise residential building in Kyiv on Sunday (26.2.2022). The building is located 1.5 miles from the Sikorsky International Airport, southwest of Kyiv. ( NYT )

The Olimpiyskiy stadium served as a symbol of courage and mutual guarantee on February 16, while the Russian army concentrated forces around Ukraine. “Hundreds unfolded a 200-meter (650-foot) flag at Kyiv’s Olimpiyskiy Stadium, while another was draped in the center of a shopping mall in the capital”, according to  euronews . 

“Ukrainians defied pressure from Moscow with a national show of flag-waving unity Wednesday, while the West warned that it saw no sign of a promised pullback of Russian troops from Ukraine’s borders despite Kremlin declarations of a withdrawal.”

Vladimir Zelensky posted a video to his Telegram channel on February 25 that shows him standing outside the government building in Kyiv, debunking rumors that he had fled the country.

The northern bridge (Pivnichnyi) remains intact in spite of the fighting in Kyiv vicinity. 

Since Russia's invasion into Ukraine on Thursday, some 368,000 Ukrainians have fled their country, according to the United Nations refugee agency (wypr.org).  According to  reuters , more than 43,000 Ukrainians entered Romania since the Russian invasion. 

“They have entered Romania through its four land border checkpoints with Ukraine, but also through its checkpoints with Moldova, data showed. Thousands of them have already exited the country on their way to Bulgaria and Hungary.”