New satellite images released this week revealed that Russia is still building up its military camp around Ukraine.
The news: The images show that Russia has expanded military equipment and deployments around Belarus, Crimea and western Russia, which all border Ukraine, CNN reports.
- “The pictures show an increase in tents designed to accommodate troops at a number of Russian bases,” Sky News reports.
Why it matters: The technology company Maxar collected and analyzed the images, saying they “reflect an increased level of activity and readiness.”
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,” the company said, per CNN.
Now, several new significant military deployments have been observed in Belarus,” Maxar said.
- “Troop tents and 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 by troops and have increased their overall readiness level,” a spokesperson for Maxar told Sky News.
Yes, but: Russia and Belarus both said the military deployments will be used for a major training exercise in February.
- The images do not show any military troops arriving at the area yet.
The bigger picture: On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of trying to draw Russia into a war with Ukraine in order to impose bigger sanctions on Russia, according to BBC News.
“It seems to me that the United States is not so much concerned about the security of Ukraine ... but its main task is to contain Russia’s development. In this sense Ukraine itself is just a tool to reach this goal,” Putin said, according to BBC News.