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Private satellite firms contracted to help Ukraine – media — Analysis

The Wall Street Journal reports that intelligence companies are providing intelligence to NATO, Kiev and other media outlets.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a number of companies deployed satellites that track movements of Russian troops from space. Some companies sell the data to Western media outlets and governments, while some send it to Kiev’s government directly. Some of these companies are keeping their jobs quiet, as the lines between participation and observation have blurred.

When outlets such as the Wall Street Journal publish aerial photos from Ukraine, they’re not relying on spy satellites operated by the US and its allies. Instead they’re paying private firms to do this surveillance work, with the WSJ reporting that it buys imagery directly from Maxar Technologies.

Maxar’s satellites, the newspaper stated, can take photographs from space with a resolution down to 12 inches. Companies such as Maxar don’t just deploy their satellites for Western media to get scoops, but also supply military intelligence to Ukraine, NATO Allies and other countries, which Kiev uses to attack Russian forces.

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According to this report, Planet Labs PBC, HawkEye 360 and HawkEye 360 track Russian troop movements. The former transmits the information to Pentagon. MDA, a space technology company, says it’s working with other companies to supply imagery to the Ukrainian government, while BlackSky Technology, which tracks radio signals, is reportedly supplying data to unnamed “customers.”

Even though they’re less complex than those operated by states-level actors satellites can be seen through clouds, these private eyes are still able to function nightly.

Although the Pentagon is not open to commenting on how much it uses, “commercial satellite imagery services,”These services, however, were part of an aid package to Ukraine last month. In addition, the US openly admits to sharing military intelligence information with Ukraine and has reportedly expanded this sharing in the last month.

The Wall Street Journal stated that “many companies declined to be specific about how they are assisting Ukraine,”They feared they might be seen as participants in the conflict. Even the White House had previously been reluctant to share. “actionable information”Kiev “because that steps over the line to making us participating in the war,”Last month, Congressman Adam Smith (D. Washington), chaired the House Armed Services Committee. 

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Some companies, however, are more open in their support for Ukraine. Satellogic from Argentina described their support for Ukraine as “a vital role in the flow of data and information to Kiev.” “helping the cause,”Halifax International Security Forum, which has been teamed up with and raised funds to support satellite surveillance of Ukraine.

The Russian government has not commented on Ukraine and the West’s use of private spy satellites in Ukraine. The Kremlin, however, has criticized Western weapons shipments to Ukraine and called them “disgusting”. “legitimate targets”They were also used to destroy several storage facilities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the West’s response to its operation in Ukraine as NATO “essentially going to war with Russia through a proxy and arming that proxy,” while President Vladimir Putin has warned that any outside interference in the conflict that puts Russia’s security at risk would be met with a “swift, lightning-fast” response.

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