Russia could be buying satellite images of objects in Ukraine from American satellite companies in order to strike them after a certain time, the head of the Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said in a commentary to Suspilne.
"All countries buy, including us. This is a purely commercial service. They have used commercial imagery before," he said.
According to The Atlantic, this is a purely commercial service. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence suspects that Russia is buying satellite images from the USA through third-party companies, and that these images "could be used in armed aggression against Ukraine".
The sequence of such actions is simple: a country buys satellite imagery, and a few days or weeks later, the place is hit by a missile.
"The number of coincidences when photos are followed by strikes is too high to be coincidental," the source said.
According to the newspaper, since many satellite imagery companies offer a list of archived images with dates and coordinates, it is possible to look through tens of thousands of images taken in Ukraine and notice suspicious patterns.
"About six months ago, we could not have imagined that private companies would sell satellite imagery in sensitive areas. But it became hard to believe that these coincidences were coincidental," a Ukrainian defence official said.
It is not that difficult to obtain satellite imagery, and companies offer surprisingly fast turnaround times for a few thousand dollars.
Clear satellite imagery from companies such as Planet or Maxar can be purchased through intermediary websites for between $1,000 and $1,200. They have previously provided images of Ukrainian facilities that were later hit by Russian missiles.
Both companies stressed that they carefully vet their customers and comply with US sanctions that prohibit cooperation with Russia.
The defence official said he had no reason to believe that the companies themselves were supporting Russia in the war. Both Planet and Maxar do a lot of business with the US government, and deliberately aiding Russia would jeopardise contracts and trigger regulation.