According @googlemaps, there is a "traffic jam" at 3:15 in the morning on the road from Belgorod, Russia to the Ukrainian border. It starts *exactly* where we saw a Russian formation of armor and IFV/APCs show up yesterday.
Someone's on the move.
Someone's on the move.
To clear up a misconception: The traffic data is most likely NOT from soldiers carrying smartphones. Instead, civilians are probably getting stuck at roadblocks and @googlemaps is recording that.
The "traffic jam" now stretches to the border with Ukraine. @madwonk and @triciawh1te have been sitting here watching creep down the road.
The only reason we were looking at the traffic near Belgorod is because yesterday @capellaspace captured a SAR image of a newly arrived Russian unit with tanks and other vehicles. What struck us about this image is that the vehicles were lined up in columns, ready to move.
I would imagine this is the end of our ability to track movement using @googlemaps, as I don't think many civilians are going to be trying to access these roads. We may see traffic jams, however, if people try to flee advancing Russian units.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
