EAGLE-EYED internet sleuths have spotted US military aircraft circling over Ukraine on online flight trackers.
Screengrabs shared on social media on Tuesday show flight data for spy planes, drones and assault helicopters swarming the region.
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Tensions between Russia and the West remain at an all-time high as the Kremlin appears to be preparing for a deadly invasion of Ukraine.
More than 100,000 troops deployed at the country’s border are “locked and loaded” to storm it, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.
Fascination with the standoff has spilt over onto Reddit, where users are tracking the flight paths of military aircraft in the region.
They’re using platforms such as flightradar24, a website that plots the real-time location of flights on a map using publicly available data.
The platform shows origins and destinations, flight numbers, aircraft types, positions, altitudes, speeds and more.
Screengrabs from flight trackers shared by Redditors reveal that a remotely-piloted surveillance drone has been hovering above Ukraine’s eastern and northern borders since Tuesday morning.
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Flying at an altitude of 56,000 ft, the Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk spy plane is registered with the United States Air Force.
It can provide real-time footage to personnel, surveying up to 40,000 square miles of terrain per day, an area the size of South Korea.
Another reconnaissance aircraft, a Boeing RC-135M, lifted off from Cyprus early on Wednesday, according to flight trackers.
The piloted craft, which is also registered with the US, has performed a number of tight manoeuvres over the Black Sea around Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 that borders Ukraine.
Aircraft designed for offensive action have also been spotted in the region in recent days.
On Monday, a pair of B52 bombers lifted off from Portugal on a flight path that apparently took them towards the Mediterranean Sea.
US Blackhawks helicopters are also said to have appeared on trackers as they darted across Ukraine’s border on Tuesday evening.
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FULL-SCALE INVASION
It comes as US intelligence fears a full-scale Russian invasion could be launched within hours, starting a conflict the scale of which has not been seen since World War 2.
However – as last-minute and high-level diplomatic talks continue in a frantic bid to avert a devastating war that could kill millions – for now the region remains in a fragile state of calm.
Russia insisted that it was returning more troops and weapons to bases and put out video showing tanks as well as other vehicles leaving the Crimean peninsula.
The move is being treated with scepticism with Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg saying that “on the contrary” more troops were being built up.
Speaking at a Nato meeting in Brussels, Mr Wallace urged serious caution, warning Russia was still geared up to invade and said it should be judged on its actions.
“Russia has the size of forces now gathered and at readiness, locked and loaded to some extent, ready to go should they wish to do so from yesterday, and that has proved to be exactly right,” he said.
PRECISION STRIKES
British and American spooks say the Kremlin is likely to strike without warning and the invasion could start as early as Wednesday.
But a Western intelligence assessment revealed: “We would expect multiple sequenced attacks and not a single strike.”
It could mean a sudden thrust against Kyiv, using precision strikes.
Other key cities would be encircled by Putin’s tanks and troops while being pounded by planes and helicopter gunships.
The grave assessment came as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky declared Wednesday a day of unity and urged his people to stand and sing the national anthem at 10am.
He said: “We do not know how to give up and we will not learn to do so. We believe in our own strength and will continue to build the future together. We are united by love for Ukraine.”
On Monday, Boris Johnson held crisis talks with US President Joe Biden after saying it was “pretty clear” Russia will invade within days.
He warned an invasion would result in a “protracted crisis with far-reaching damage for both Russia and the world.”
But a Downing Street spokesman insisted there “remained a crucial window for diplomacy and for Russia to step back from its threats towards Ukraine”.
No10 said Boris and Biden had agreed to stay in touch as the situation “evolves”.
Reports warned 60 per cent of Russia’s ground forces are in striking range.
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In other news, a British woman has told of her horror after scammers used photos of a “silver fox” politician to trick her out of £80,000.
Norfolk County Council is suing Apple over what it says was misleading information about iPhone sales.
The creators of a chilling new horror game say that the title is so disturbing they’ve been forced to censor it on PlayStation.
And, Apple has announced updates to AirTags following claims that the coin-sized tracking devices are being used to stalk people.
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