Russia seems to have been making new field deployments of armored equipment and troops near the border with Ukraine, said a private US company citing satellite images on Sunday.
The director of US-based Maxar Technologies has said that the new activity indicated increased military readiness.
The firm, which has also released the images, has been tracking the buildup of Russian forces for weeks.
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In a release, Maxar on Sunday said, “This new activity represents a change in the pattern of the previously observed deployments of battle groups (tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery and support equipment).”
According to satellite images, many large deployments of battle groups have been observed around the military garrison at Soloti, Russia, as of February 13, Maxar said.
On Sunday, the images showed that most combat units and support equipment at Soloti had departed.
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Throughout the area, vehicle tracks and some convoys of armored equipment were witnessed, the company said.
On the basis of the tracks and the snow, the activity looked to be recent, Stephen Wood, senior director, Maxar News Bureau, told Reuters.
“To me, it indicates an increased state of readiness,” Wood said.
(With inputs from agencies)
