Today’s Paper#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Russia-Ukraine War By Josh Holder and Marco HernandezApril 6 On the front line of the war near the city of Blue towns have since been reclaimed by Ukraine Russia took control of most of Mariupol in April after its artillery barrages destroyed most of the city Ukrainian forces withdrew from Sievierodonetsk After victory in Rubizhne to the north and Popasna to the south in May Russia focused its efforts on Sievierodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk Russian forces entered the city on June 25 and completed their capture in eight days Russia captured the small salt-mining town Months of fierce artillery battles had damaged much of Soledar Data from the Institute for the Study of War was used to identify the month in which Russia took control of a city in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions The institute provides datasets on the assessed control and advances of Russian-backed forces in the region which were combined to summarize Russian presence in an area Russian control of an urban area was defined as Russian forces having a presence in at least 85 percent of a city’s area The changes in control over time were tracked by comparing each town or city’s status on the first of each month with that of the previous month using the institute’s data This analysis focused on longer-term shifts and excluded changes in control of towns and cities that occurred within the periods between the first of each month The color of each town or city reflects which side currently controls it A town or city is considered under Ukrainian control if less than 85 percent of its area is occupied by Russian forces at present Due to the continuing battle within Bakhmut control of the city is depicted at the sub-city level based on the methodology used in this article Russia does not occupy 85 percent of its area Town and city boundaries were sourced from OpenStreetMap All places in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions marked as a “town” or “city” in its database were included in the analysis Sources: State Statistics Service of Ukraine; OpenStreetMap; Institute for the Study of War with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project; Rochan Consulting SatNews Recent Maxar satellite imagery reveals that Russian ground forces continue to redeploy and move into eastern Ukraine likely in preparation for a renewed offensive and military operations in the Donbas region A number of military deployments were observed along the 14K-34 highway and the corridor that leads from Soloti and Valuyki in western Russia towards the border with Ukraine These deployments consisted of dozens of armored vehicles troops with tents and support equipment and were positioned in fields and farms west of Soloti and near the Russian towns of Dubrovka Biriuch and Leonovka—approximately 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of the Ukraine border Across the border and into eastern Ukraine several convoys of military equipment were seen traveling along the T2104 highway near Vilkhuvatka additional military convoys were also seen yesterday (April 11th) in and near the Donbas region near the Ukrainian towns of Bilokurakyne and Kyslikva the convoys contain more than 200 vehicles and include tanks signs of ongoing artillery shelling and recent attacks continue to be seen in and around Mariupol Smoke and fire was observed coming from a number of buildings throughout the western and eastern sections of the city as well as in and near the Azovstal iron and steel works factory—the site of ongoing battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces two probable Russian military resupply and maintenance bases have been established in southern Ukraine and in Crimea that are likely being used to help reinforce and resupply operations in and near Mariupol Filed Under: Imagery, Satellites, Ukraine, War Tagged With: Featured Zoomed-in view of a Russian military convoy near the Ukrainian town of Bilokurakyne by Maxar Technologies' WorldView-2 satellite Zoomed-in view of a collection of Russian armored vehicles near the town of Dzhankoi in Crimea photographed by a Maxar satellite on April 6 Burning buildings on the eastern side of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol photographed by Maxar Technologies' GeoEye-1 satellite on April 6 Satellites continue to monitor the Russian invasion and its impacts Russia's intensifying focus on eastern and southern Ukraine is visible in satellite imagery Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb drawing condemnation from the United States and many other countries around the world The Russian offensive was initially spread widely with forces advancing on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the north cities such as Mariupol in the south and the Donbas and other regions in the east This shift is evident in newly released photos captured by satellites operated by Virginia-based company Maxar Technologies The images show new troop deployments along the eastern Ukraine/western Russia border as well as long convoys of military vehicles traversing the region Several such convoys were spotted Monday (April 11) in eastern Ukraine near the towns of Bilokurakyne and Kyslikva towed artillery and support equipment," Maxar representatives said in an emailed statement describing the newly released photos The imagery also shows increased Russian activity in southern Ukraine "two probable Russian military resupply and maintenance bases have been established in southern Ukraine and in Crimea that are likely being used to help reinforce and resupply operations in and near Mariupol Kherson and Mykolaiv," Maxar representatives said Crimea was part of Ukraine until early 2014 when Russia invaded and annexed the strategically important peninsula The newly released Maxar imagery provides yet another snapshot of this ongoing devastation capturing plumes of smoke rising from multiple battered buildings in the beleaguered city Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California 'Falcon' flies on Star Wars Day: SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Florida (photos) 10 must-have 'Star Wars' books and novels coming soon to your galaxy reporters are allowed to enter Sumy province Ukraine -- After sundown one day early this month a small bus arrived at the military checkpoint on a snow-covered road in the province of Sumy all clad in winter garb and clutching their belongings It was about 6 kilometers from the only open border crossing between Russia and Ukraine the closest reporters are allowed to the Russian border Despite a bone-chilling winter and as their country's counteroffensive to recapture territory bogs down Ukrainian citizens continue to make their way from Russian-occupied territories.