The Mainichi: “A research team led by a University of Tokyo professor has created digital maps utilizing satellite images and other photos to show the reality of damaged areas in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Hidenori Watanave, information design professor at the University of Tokyo’s graduate school, said that by updating latest information online, internet users can observe the movements of troops coming in from Russia, as well as the state of the expanding destruction in eastern Ukraine following large-scale battles. A satellite image taken on April 9 showed an airport in the western Ukrainian city of Voronezh, located 270 kilometers from the major city Kharkiv, which is in the country’s northeast. The photo showed dozens of military aircraft lined up. In another satellite image taken around the same time, a row of vehicles seemingly belonging to Russian troops could be seen stretching for over 10 kilometers on a main road in eastern Ukraine. Both images were uploaded online by a private satellite company. Together with Aoyama Gakuin University professor Taichi Furuhashi, Watanave identified the locations of the photos and revealed satellite imagery of these places via Google Earth. He commented, “You can actually tell (from the maps) that Russia is making arrangements within and outside the country to prepare for large-scale offensives in eastern Ukraine. This is learned not from statements of government authorities, but through the facts captured in the satellite images.” The team used satellite images revealed by NASA to show the state of Mariupol in Ukraine’s southeast, which was hit in violent attacks. By combining satellite imagery with red markings that indicated heat detected from the ground, the team was apparently able to indicate the range of areas where fires occurred in the month through April 3. A wide range of urban areas are marked red, including a theater in the city center where, according to local authorities, at least 300 people were killed in a Russian bombing…”

• The research team’s website can be reached at https://cesium.com/ion/stories/viewer/?id=8be6f99c-0d4c-46ce-91a3-313e3cac62fe