Russian military vehicles and equipment are still moving near the Antonov Airport, where a portion of a large military convoy was photographed Feb. 28, according to satellite images released Tuesday by Maxar Technologies.
A senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday the convoy has not advanced beyond the airport in Hostomel, which is about 30 kilometers outside downtown Kyiv. The official noted that assessments show Russian forces are trying to reach Kyiv through other directions.
Maxar Technologies has been tracking Russian military movements around Ukraine through satellite images since late last year, recently releasing photos that showed a large military convoy traveling toward the capital city of Kyiv and spanning nearly 40 miles of road.
Clouds covered a large section of the area where the convoy was last seen, according to Maxar, but images taken Tuesday show armored vehicles and equipment moving near the Antonov Airport near Hostomel. A portion of the convoy was previously photographed in the same area on Feb. 28.
Additional images released Tuesday show craters, which a Maxar spokesman said are from bombs, and a damaged bridge in Irpin, west of Kyiv.
Ukrainians have been crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path underneath the bridge, which The Associated Press reported was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, in order to evacuate.
Ukrainian officials told the Associated Press that a safe evacuation corridor opened from Irpin on Tuesday, but it is unclear how long it was open or how many people used it.
Previous agreements for safe evacuation corridors have failed, with Ukraine claiming Russia violated ceasefire agreements. The Russian military denied firing on convoys.
Two million Ukrainian refugees have left the country in the 12 days since the Russian invaded started, according to the UN Refugee Agency, with more than half traveling to Poland.
“The refugees who have crossed are safe from the violence, but none were spared huge loss and trauma. Behind the monolithic statistics are 2 million stories of separation, anguish, and loss,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in a statement.
U.S. defense officials estimate more than 600 Russian missiles have been fired from Russia or inside Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24.
