IN PLAIN SIGHT
Russian bases ‘REVEALED’ by Google Maps satellites – amid claims they show FAKE jets to fool the West
RUSSIA'S military bases have been revealed in uncensored Google Maps images - amid claims they show fake jets to fool the West.
The country's military shared high-quality images alleging to show Russian command posts near Murmansk, Kamchatka and Kursk.
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In the Twitter post, the Ukraine's military claimed the images - which show "Russian launchers, intercontinental ballistic missile mines, command posts and secret landfills" - were newly uncensored by Google.
But the tech firm has insisted the shots were always available.
A Google spokesperson said: "We haven't made any blurring changes to our satellite imagery in Russia."
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Russian media later claimed images display "the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, a nuclear weapons store near Murmansk, submarines in the Far East peninsula of Kamchatka, and a military airbase in the Western city of Kursk".
It comes as experts claim Russia could be using decoy aircraft to fool the Western satellites.
Long range imagery shows what appears to be Styrofoam fighter jets being disassembled at the Lipetsk military airport in Russia - prompting claims Moscow could be trying to inflate their true size of their air force.
Justin Bronk, a Russian air defence expert from RUSI, a think tank, told The Sun Online using highly realistic inflatable decoys was a "well established tactic within the Russian armed forces".
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"Decoy aircraft, surface-to-air missile systems and other vehicles are commonly employed by Russian forces to obscure the movements and deployed numbers of real assets.
"And in wartime the hope is it attracts scarce long range missiles which would otherwise be used to strike real targets."
On the aircraft at Lipetsk airport, he said: "One thing to note is that the MIG-31BM interceptors in that picture can be disassembled for repairs or maintenance like any other aircraft, and so the picture of the wings and tail surfaces detached on some of the aircraft does not prove per se that they are not real.
"[However] it would be slightly odd to be doing such intensive maintenance or repairs in the open on the hardstands rather than in a hanger. "
It wouldn't be the first time Russia has tried to mask its real firepower.
Images from Russian state-run media revealed a "decoy army" of inflatable tanks, missiles and fighter jets to "trick the West".
Putin's decoys, which can inflate within minutes, were seen in woods close to the capital city Moscow last year.
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Among the armoury is what looks like a MiG-31 and Su-27 fighters under the cover of an anti-aircraft missile system at a mock covert airfield in the forest.
The images of Russia's bases came as Putin's forces hit more than 300 Ukrainian military targets overnight in the first major missile strike in weeks.
Vladimir Putin's forces claimed to have hit fuel depots, warehouses and other vital infrastructure in eastern Ukraine, killing six people.
The Kremlin was seeking revenge for the embarrassing sinking of its flagship Moskva by Ukrainian troops over the weekend.
Images have emerged of the warship in flames and sinking in the Black Sea after being hit Ukrainian missiles.
And last night, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the long-feared "battle for the Donbas" is finally underway.
Explosions were heard along the entire front as Putin launched a major new offensive to seize control of the east.
Ukrainian outlets reported a series of explosions in Kharkiv, Nikolaev and in the suburbs of Donetsk.
In other Ukraine news:
- Boris Johnson will hand Stormer armoured missile launchers to Ukraine to unleash hell on Putin’s army;
- Russia has begun major new offensive to seize eastern Ukraine, Zelensky says;
- Hundreds of Bucha massacre victims buried in mass grave as Putin gives the killers award for ‘heroism and bravery’;
- Vengeful Russians blitz civilians in Ukraine with long-range missiles in revenge for warship attack.
And videos on social media appeared to show a blitz on towns as anti-aircraft fire lit up the night sky.
Zelensky's comments follow warnings from other senior officials that Russia has begun its assault on the eastern region on Monday.
In a video address he said: "We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time.
"A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive."
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The brave Ukrainian leader refused to be cowed by the latest Russian attack, saying: "No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves."
Zelensky's chief of staff said the assault on the Donbas marked the start of the "second phase" of the war.
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