Satellite images show new Russian military facility in Mariupol

Newly released satellite imagery shows a new Russian military compound in Mariupol, Ukraine, complete with a Russian Army slogan atop the roof, according to Maxar Technologies.

According to Maxar, the military compound is in the north-center of the city. The company released the images Friday, along with images taken in March 2022 of the same areas in Mariupol, which show the damage from airstrikes and artillery bombardments during the Russian invasion.

The before-and-after satellite images show destroyed buildings and stockpiles of construction supplies. The Mariupol theater, the target of an airstrike believed to have killed hundreds of civilians on March 16, now has a large protective screen in place around the building.

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Images also indicate there has been a significant expansion of graves at the city’s main cemetery. More than 1,500 new graves have been dug at the site, according to a November analysis by BBC of the Maxar images.

Mariupol is a strategic port city in the Pryazovia region of Ukraine. Workers at the Azovstal steel plant held off Russian forces before surrendering as prisoners of war in May, according to the Associated Press. The plant had been the last Ukrainian holdout in the ruined city, where officials estimate at least 20,000 civilians were killed. Mariupol remains under Russian control.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in August ordered a major buildup of military forces, moving to increase the number of troops by 13% by the end of the year. Upon that announcement, military-aged men in Russia began leaving the country, according to the Associated Press.

In comments at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California on Saturday, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Russia is burning through its munitions stockpiles at an “extraordinary rate.”

The Pentagon announced a new aid package on Nov. 23 to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, the U.S. military’s 26th such package for Ukraine since August 2021. It will include up to $400 million in ammunition, weapons, and supplies.

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