Satellite Images Show Russian Invasion of Ukraine in Motion – CNET [CNET]

A commercial satellite spotted smoke rising from an air base in Ukraine as Russian forces invaded the country and former Soviet state on Thursday. 

Planet, which operates a constellation of over 200 Earth-observing satellites, shared before and after images of Chuhuiv Airbase, with the latter showing black smoke rising from facilities at the base. 

Chuhuiv was once a Soviet Air Force base and has long been a location of military importance. It lies outside the major Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, a short distance to the south of the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Cloud cover over Ukraine is to blame for the relatively limited amount of satellite imagery in the last 24 hours. But pictures captured by Maxar satellites earlier in the week show Russia building up military resources along Ukraine’s border prior to the invasion.

Vladimir Putin announced late Wednesday that Russia was beginning a “special military operation” in Ukraine under the pretense of responding to Ukrainian aggression. 

Explosions have been seen in the country’s largest cities and dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have reportedly already been killed in the conflict.