Is something being prepared – Russia is again massing its army near Ukraine?

The latest satellite images from a private American company show that Russia is still massing its forces in annexed Crimea and near Ukraine.

Reuters was unable to verify the latest footage from Maxar Technologies. The Kremlin has repeatedly said it reserves the right to deploy its own military forces on Russian territory, where it uses the opportunity to accuse the West of amassing troops.

Russia, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, "is deploying its troops on its territory due to the hostile actions of its NATO rivals, the United States and some European countries, which are conducting very ambitious maneuvers near our borders," Index.hr writes.

However, satellite images from December 13 show a base in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, full of armored vehicles and tanks.

Maxar filmed that base in October and it was empty.

"Over the past month, our high-resolution satellite imagery has shown numerous deployments of Russian forces in Crimea and several training centers in western Russia along the border with Ukraine," Maxara said.

According to Maxar, activities have intensified at three locations in Crimea and five locations in western Russia.

US President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have previously said that Moscow is considering an attack on Ukraine in January.

On December 23, Bloomberg also reported on the further accumulation of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine, citing satellite images studied by the military intelligence company Janes.

US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland suggested that Russia could invade Ukraine as early as 2022. The United States and other Western countries have threatened the Russian Federation with the most severe sanctions in the event of such a scenario.

Moscow has consistently denied reports of an impending invasion of Ukraine and, for its part, accuses NATO of arming Kiev. On December 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the United States for escalating tensions in Europe.

Last week, Russia demanded that the NATO alliance refrain from military operations in countries neighboring Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry included the relevant provisions in the draft security agreement, which was sent to Washington. The United States stated that dialogue with Moscow on security guarantees is possible only under the conditions of de-escalation on the borders of Ukraine and in coordination with European allies and partners.