Seen from space, Russia caught red-handed!

100 days ago, on February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with the consequences that we know today and economic repercussions in a very large number of sectors. One of the peculiarities of this conflict, and this is what explains why Futura finds an interest in it, is that never has an armed conflict between two nations been so closely followed and mediated by a multitude of satellites.earth observation commercial and private. To the chagrin of states on both sides, satellite imagery provides transparency to the Ukrainian conflict.

These satellite operators and Earth imaging companies provide everyone with intelligence and strategic information collected by their own means. Previously, only governments had access to it. They only very rarely made them public and when they decided to do so, these images served less to show objective facts than to serve for propaganda purposes.

This war therefore highlights the role of these constellations of satellites whose images show in almost real time all aspects of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Nothing escapes them. Prior to the start of the conflict, monitoring of Russian troop movements by the Ukrainian military was largely made possible thanks in part to Planet satellite images, the fleet of more than 200 satellites photography every day across the globe. Since the start of the conflict, now 100 days ago, commercial satellite data has provided an overview showing the advance of Russian troops, the defensive positions of Ukrainian forces as well as the destruction wrought by the Russians.

These satellite images are really able to see everything. If they can quantify the destruction of habitats, industries, transport, communication and energy distribution infrastructures, they are also able to show that after 100 days of war, world food security is at risk. tested by Russian attacks.

Indeed, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has impacted global food webs, creating food shortages and causing unprecedented price increases. Russia continued to destabilize the global balance by directly stealing cereals and agricultural equipment in Ukraine, and targeting existing stocks.

Specifically, Planet satellites observed the Russian ship Matros Posinich delivering 27,000 tons of stolen grain to Ukraine, in the Syrian port of Latakia on Friday, May 27, 2022. This would be its second voyage in four weeks. It is one of three ships that have loaded grain into the port of Sevastopol, Crimea, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

CNN reported that Ukrainian authorities estimated earlier this month that Russian forces in occupied areas seized more than 400,000 tons of grain. Planet’s satellites also captured images of a destroyed grain silo near the town of Rubizhne, where 19,000 tons of wheat and 8,500 tons of seeds of sunflowerwith a total value of $13 million.