Friday 24 December 2021
planned military exercises on the border
Satellite film Russian deployment in Crimea
New satellite images from the United States show the concentration of Russian forces in Crimea and western Russia. With a military maneuver near the border with Ukraine, Moscow should provide additional explosives over Christmas week.
According to a US company specializing in satellite imagery, Russia has further strengthened its troops in Ukraine’s eastern border and Crimea in recent weeks. Satellite images from December 13, published Thursday evening by the US company Maxar Technologies, show, among other things, a military base on the Crimean peninsula, almost completely stocked with hundreds of tanks and other armed vehicles. The same base was still half empty in a satellite image of Maxar taken in October.
According to the company, this is an additional unit that has been transferred to the peninsula occupied by Russia. Satellite images show increased activity by the Russian military at three locations in Crimea and five in western Russia. Reuters was initially unable to independently verify the images’ authenticity.
NATO security guarantee required
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov defended months-long military movements. The background is unfriendly activities by NATO, the United States and several European countries, Pesco confirmed. Russia had repeatedly sought security guarantees from the United States and NATO, such as an explicit waiver of Ukraine’s entry into the military alliance. In the West, however, there are growing concerns about the concentration of Russian troops near the border. Ukraine fears attack from Russian army.
Just a day earlier, Russia announced a military maneuver that would provide new explosives: hundreds of paratroopers are expected to practice near the Ukrainian border this week, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing the Russian Defense Ministry . The maneuvers should take place in the Crimean peninsula and the neighboring Krasnodar province, occupied by Russia in 2014. About 1200 soldiers are to participate, along with over 250 military vehicles and aircraft. The objective is to practice capturing an area as part of an offensive mission. Russia, which backs pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, is said to have gathered around 100,000 troops in the border region.
