Russia Area 51 - MOSCOW, Feb 17 () - Satellite images show Russia has moved some of its military equipment deployed near Ukraine, but other hardware has arrived and Moscow still has many troops and equipment near its former Soviet neighbor, private American companies. said on Thursday.

Russia announced on Tuesday a partial withdrawal of its forces near Ukraine, fueling fears of an invasion, but Western countries warned on Wednesday that there was an increase - not a decrease - in Russia's military presence. Read more

Russia Area 51

Russia Area 51

Images released by US-based Maxar Technologies, which has been tracking Russian military construction for weeks, could not be independently verified by . Images show locations in Belarus, western Russia and annexed Crimea on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

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A satellite image shows tents and artillery at the Opuk training area, in Crimea, February 15, 2022. Maxar Technologies / Handout via

In Crimea, from where Russia has shown a video of pulling out tanks and military equipment, Maxar pointed to an armored vehicle stationed at the Yevpatoria train yard about to leave.

However, troops and equipment remain deployed in other locations on the peninsula that Russia took from Ukraine in 2014, including the Opuk training area and locations on Lake Donuzlav and Novoozernoye, it said.

In Belarus, where Russia is holding large-scale exercises, Maxar pointed to a new military pontoon bridge over the Pripyat River less than six kilometers from the border with Ukraine, and a large new field hospital at an exercise site.

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At an airfield in Belarus, a new unit of nearly 20 attack helicopters has been deployed, but significant forces and ground forces from the newly deployed unit have withdrawn and are unaccounted for, Maxar said.

Troops and armored vehicles are still deployed elsewhere and training. Most of the equipment and troop housing areas that had been near Rechitsa in southeastern Belarus were gone and unaccounted for, he said, adding that a military convoy was seen heading west. China Develops Mysterious Satellite Imagery, Area-51 Style Airfield Satellite. shared exclusively, showing new buildings going up on a massive airfield near the old nuclear test site.

This June 28, 2021 photo shows about a dozen large buildings under construction at a mysterious and remote airfield. Maxar Technologies hide caption

Russia Area 51

This June 28, 2021 photo shows about a dozen large buildings under construction at a mysterious and remote airfield.

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It inspires comparison to Area-51: A massive, three-mile runway in a remote part of the Chinese desert, hundreds of miles from any city.

Now it looks like the site is expanding. Satellite images from the commercial company Maxar are provided exclusively to show a dozen or so large concrete buildings under construction near the airstrip. The building marks a significant change at the airport, which until recently lacked much permanent accommodation.

"I think we're looking at what appears to be a key facility for China's apparently growing military space activities," said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who tracks space issues there.

The runway, on the edge of China's former Lop Nur nuclear test site, spread out of nowhere in 2016. By 2020, observers believe China has landed a high-end "spacecraft" there.

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The airfield has a long runway believed to be used to land a Chinese spacecraft in 2020. Maxar Technologies hide caption

The airport has a long runway believed to be used to land a Chinese spacecraft in 2020.

No one knows exactly what the spacecraft will look like, but it appears to be similar to the space shuttles that used to carry American astronauts into orbit, except smaller.

Russia Area 51

"Definitely not, I would say, big enough to fly people," said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks satellites and spacecraft.

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America has a couple of similar space planes, says McDowell. This spacecraft, known as the X-37b, performs secret missions for the Air Force. McDowell says he believes the X-37b program could be used to test advanced technology for military satellites.

The US military X-37b, a small spacecraft used for secret research. Jeremy Webster / Air Force Media hide caption

"It's used as an experimental platform, as something that carries out experiments into space and then mostly brings them back and so you can fix them, improve them and launch them again," he said.

Apart from the Chinese spacecraft landing last September, orbit has been quiet. There are what look like some modular trailers at one end, perhaps temporary housing for the rare times the ground staff need to be on site.

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But new facilities currently under construction show that the track's role can be expanded. "It seems to be more than just 'We came here for the weekend,'" McDowell says.

Satellite images from February 2020 (left) and 28 June 2021 (right) show the new construction. Maxar Technologies hide caption

Maxar's renderings, along with images from the commercial company Planet, indicate that construction will begin in the summer of 2020, around the time the spacecraft lifts off. Panda said the buildings are similar to those seen at other Chinese military facilities. But it is not clear what will work for them. "This could be an officer's office, if this is a place that will be a permanent military installation of some kind," he said. "Housing is another possibility."

Russia Area 51

Regardless, Panda thinks the giant airstrip in the middle of the desert could be busier. Its remote location makes it the perfect place to test top-secret equipment.

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"Atmospheric aircraft, high-altitude aircraft, high-altitude drones, potential bombs, other experimental aircraft," he said. "You know what kind of things the US could be accused of testing at a place like Area 51."

The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the site. For his part, Panda says he will be on the lookout for new technology shown in upcoming military parades. It could provide clues as to what the Chinese government is working on in its new desert facility.

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