Japan researchers create online maps with satellite images to expose damage in Ukraine

Emotional, Burning, Unlimited Tuned Laboratory

TOKYO — 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.