Russia-Ukraine crisis Live: Satellite images show new deployments within 16 km of the Ukraine border
Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: Satellite imagery is taken Wednesday showed new deployments in western Russia, many of them within 16 km of the border with Ukraine and less than 80 km from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Maxar Technologies said. Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believes Russia will invade Ukraine within hours after separatists Wednesday asked for Russian help to repel “aggression” and as explosions rocked the breakaway eastern city of Donetsk.
Earlier Wednesday, Ukrainian lawmakers approved a decree that imposes a nationwide state of emergency for 30 days starting Thursday. The Ukrainian government also closed airports in eastern Ukraine from midnight through 7 am because of the confrontation with Russia.
Shelling has intensified in the east, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has recognized two separatist regions as independent and ordered the deployment of what he called peacekeepers, a move the West calls the start of an invasion.