Like other modern wars, the war in Ukraine has been characterized by the new use of remote sensing by scientists, NGOs, and news organizations to gain information about battlefield activity. Simultaneously, it has also seen the proliferation of propaganda across the news and Internet. It is difficult to overstate how indispensable remote sensing is in seeking the truth, and it has repeatedly enabled the press to speak truth to power as the conflict has continued.
Satellite images show the destruction of the Mariupol Theatre by an airstrike, with the word “children” written in Russian on the ground. 600 civilians were killed.
Drone footage reveals a Russian car bomb planted on top of the Nova Kakhovka Dam, days before it was destroyed, flooding the downstream city of Kherson.
Satellite imagery shows a mass grave being dug during the siege of Mariupol. Based on these images and others, Human Rights Watch estimates more than 10,000 died.