NATO: Boom, Here's Proof of Russian Troops on Ukraine Border

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By Brian Ries2014-04-11 15:40:07 UTC

Busted.

One day after an official in the Russian military general staff accused NATO of publishing old satellite images that show the country’s military amassing on its border with Ukraine, the military alliance is doubling down.

Now NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) have published a series of before and after satellite photographs that show a clear military buildup in a number of sites that line Russia’s border with Ukraine, dating from March 22 to April 2, 2014.

Digital Globe, the company that provided the images, had previously told Mashable it was standing by the fact the satellite photos were taken last month.

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe believes there are 40,000 Russian troops parked on the border with Ukraine — and they're ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

"The Russians have an array of capabilities including aircraft, helicopters, special forces, tanks, artillery, infantry fighting vehicles… and these could move in a matter of hours,” Brigadier Gary Deakin, the Director of the Comprehensive Crisis Operations and Management Centre (CCOMC) at SHAPE, told reporters on Thursday. "These forces have a destabilizing effect and present serious implications for the security and stability of the region,” he said.