A Ukrainian satellite, funded by the country’s military intelligence, allows it to spy on the Russians from space, identify their troops and destroy their weapons.
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The use of the “people’s satellite” in combination with access to the ICEYE database allowed the GUR to take more than 4,700 images of Russian military facilities: 370 airfields, 238 air defense positions, 153 oil refineries, 147 missile and ammunition depots, and 17 naval forces.
Thanks to the people’s satellite, our military managed to destroy thousands of military facilities, including the submarine Rostov-on-Don and the large landing ship Minsk, etc. This paid off tenfold,” Serhiy Prytula, a Ukrainian TV presenter and actor whose foundation helped raise money for the satellite, told POLITICO.
It all started in the early days of the Russian invasion, when Ukrainians began buying weapons to repel pressure.
Prytula’s charity fund and Ukrainian blogger Igor Lachenkov raised about $20 million to buy three Bayraktar drones, which were popular in the first months of the war. However, Turkish manufacturer Baykar Defense decided to donate the drones to Ukraine.
Since the money had not been spent, volunteers consulted with the military about the best use of the money. In August 2022, they decided to purchase one satellite and also gain access to the database of the Finnish satellite company ICEYE, created from the 21 satellites that the company owned at that time.
I don’t remember a single case where civil society bought a satellite for defense intelligence of their country. And the Ukrainians did it. People felt their power to do such big projects for their defense forces, – said Prytula.
Until 2022, Ukraine did not have its own satellites, so access to ICEYE technology allowed Kyiv to receive exclusive images in all weather conditions, despite rain, snow, fog, smog and dust, day and night.
The tiny ICEYE satellites use so-called Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, which collects detailed images by peering through clouds, leaves and even the night by bouncing radio waves off the Earth.
This makes it difficult for tanks or troops to be hidden and allows the military to better plan operations and destroy the enemy more effectively.
The GUR reports that about 38% of the data obtained thanks to ICEYE was used to prepare attacks on the enemy.
A huge advantage of the ICEYE satellite is the ability to clearly see a concentration of enemy mechanized units with equipment, even carefully camouflaged in the greenery. What do you think will happen to them next? — The GUR joked, hinting at operations deep in the Russian rear and in the Black Sea.
Spy satellites have been around since the early days of the space age, but until now they have been mostly launched and operated by national intelligence services and militaries. The war in Ukraine has shown that the demand is much broader.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.