WASHINGTON, March 1, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - A huge Russian military convoy

stretching some 40 miles was spotted Monday by a US satellite imaging company
just north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which has already repulsed several
assaults.

   Satellite photos provided by Maxar, a US company, showed that the convoy -
- which had been massing since Sunday -- had mushroomed to more than 40 miles
of military vehicles.

   It said the column covered the entire stretch of road from near Antonov
airport, some 18 miles from the capital, to the town of Prybirsk - a distance
of approximately 40 miles.

   Maxar said that "along parts of the route, some vehicles are spaced fairly
far apart while in other sections military equipment and units are traveling
two or three vehicles abreast on the road."

   "A number of homes and buildings are seen burning north and northwest of
Ivankiv, near the roads where the convoy is traveling," it added.

   Maxar said its satellites had also captured images of "additional ground
forces deployments and ground attack helicopter units" in southern Belarus,
less than 20 miles north of the border with Ukraine.

   Since the start of the Russian offensive on Thursday, Ukrainian forces
have defended the roads leading into central Kyiv against assaults by Russian
forces that are massing around the capital.

   According to two sources interviewed by AFP on Monday, one diplomatic and
the other a security official, Moscow is preparing to launch a new military
push imminently.

   The Ukrainian Army General Staff official page on Facebook said that
Russian forces were massing over the past 24 hours and accumulating armored
vehicles and artillery weapons "primarily to encircle and take control of
Kyiv and other major cities of Ukraine."

   Washington says the main Russian effort remains an advance on Kyiv but
that had "slowed down" on the fifth day of the invasion.

   On Monday, the main Russian column advancing towards the Ukrainian capital
had advanced about three miles and was some 18 miles from the city, a senior
US defense official said.