The Most Documented Invasion In History

Scroll to discover a small collection of Planet satellite images that have brought unprecedented transparency into the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Satellite imagery shows Russian military buildup near Ukraine’s border

October 12, 2021 - December 29, 2021 | Yelnya, Russia

This pair of high-resolution SkySat images shows the buildup of Russian infrastructure and vehicles about 160 miles (260 kilometers) north of Ukraine.

PlanetScope daily monitoring and high-resolution SkySat tasking improved situational awareness on the ground and acted as a source of truth to counter misinformation online.

Monitoring the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean

February 23, 2022 | Mediterranean Sea

Satellite imagery shows the Russian Navy as they sailed in the Mediterranean Sea.

Over the course of the crisis, PlanetScope imagery has been used to enhance maritime domain awareness.

Rocket strike origins determined using open-source intelligence (OSINT)

February 27, 2022 | Belgorod Oblast, Russia

External intelligence researchers used Planet imagery to identify likely sources of Russian missile attacks.

The plume of smoke rises from what analysts determined to be a probable Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) oriented in the direction of Kharkiv.

Monitoring humanitarian crises through damage assessment and artificial intelligence (AI)

March 2022 | Borodyanka, Ukraine

Planet worked with the United Nations and Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab to assess the extent of structural damage caused by the war, identifying affected schools, hospitals, and sanitation facilities.

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May 20, 2022

High-resolution tasking helps track dark ships and identify potential grain smuggling

June 5, 2002 | Sevastopol, Ukraine

Planet enables analysts to conduct advanced maritime vessel detection and tracking.

External investigators reported an alleged laundering system of grain stolen from Ukraine by analyzing SkySat images of multiple vessels as they were loaded in port, and conducted ship-to-ship transfers out at sea while “dark.”

Land cover analysis of satellite imagery helps calculate wheat harvests

July 2022 | Ukraine

Near the frontline of the conflict, fields were left unharvested.

NASA Harvest used Planet imagery to calculate yields so governments and organizations could better see crop output in effected areas, and take appropriate compensatory measures.

Daily, global situational awareness

Planet imagery has proven critical to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions throughout the conflict in Ukraine through rapid satellite tasking and information downlink.

Open, shareable data and the urgency of the conflict has catalyzed technology and humanitarian solutions that will have positive, global implications beyond this war.

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