Russian forces have moved into Belarus in the last two weeks. The Russian and Belarus defense ministries say the deployments are ahead of a major training exercise this month.
The imagery was collected and analyzed by Maxar. In an accompanying note, Maxar said the deployments “reflect an increased level of activity and readiness.”
Maxar and other satellite imagery providers said they have noticed the expansion of existing Russian military training grounds and garrisons within some 150 miles of the Ukrainian border over the last few months.
Some are within a few miles of the border.
Maxar said the most recent images show a new phase of Russian activity.
It said that previously, “in most cases, few troops or new housing for additional personnel were observed near the deployments, suggesting that some of the units may have been pre-positioned or forward deployed.”
That has begun to change.
“During the past couple of weeks, several new significant military deployments have been observed in Belarus,” Maxar said.
“Also, troop tents/shelters for personnel have been seen at virtually every deployment location in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia, which suggests that the units are now accompanied with troops and have increased their overall readiness level.”
Maxar compared images from September and late January of the same military camp at Novoozerne in Crimea. The images show a significant increase in activity, with an area of tents being erected.
That implies the camp is ready to house troops, although there is no evidence of troops arriving as of now.
Maxar also note that “local military training activity (including live-fire artillery and maneuver training) has been observed in progress at numerous training areas.”
The imagery shows impact craters at two training areas in Russia: Pogonovo and Persianovsky. Persianovsky is some 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border. Pogonovo is some 150 miles (220 kilometers) from the border.
Konrad Muzyka, a defense analyst…
Source : cnn
