A huge convoy of Russian cars is approaching Kyiv

Russia appears to be advancing its invasion of Ukraine with satellite imagery showing a huge convoy – about 40 miles or 65 kilometers long – of Russian military vehicles heading for the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

The following satellite image was taken by the American company Maxar Technologies on Monday. It appears to show a convoy of Russian armored tanks and trucks stretching from Pibirsk, north of Kyiv, to Antonov Airport (also known as Hostemel Airport, the site of last week’s fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces) on the northeastern outskirts of Kiev. the Ukrainian capital.

In some parts of the convoy, the vehicles appear to be moving three or four side by side on the road. The distance along the road is approximately 40 miles.

It should be noted that the situation in Ukraine is developing rapidly and may now differ from what is seen in these images, which show the convoy on Sunday and Monday.

The following two photos were taken by Maxar Technologies on Sunday. At this point, it seems that the convoy does not cover such a large area and the clouds interfere with the full visibility of the area.

Official sources have not confirmed the convoy’s existence, but there are fears that this suggests that Russia is preparing to launch a full-scale attack on Kyiv, a city it has not yet occupied, despite clashes on the outskirts.

Other images from Maxar suggest additional military activity in southern Belarus, which borders Ukraine and is an ally of Russia, showing ground forces and helicopter ground attack helicopters. Again, official sources have not confirmed whether these units – or Belarus in general – are preparing to join Russian forces in an attack on Ukraine.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko reiterated on Monday that his country has no plans to join the invasion, according to the state news agency Belta.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last Thursday, and its forces attacked various cities and regions in the north, east and south of the country. However, analysts suggest that Russia has made slower progress towards the country and has met with more resistance than expected.

If Russia is about to launch a much heavier attack on the capital Kyiv, however, how the Ukrainian armed forces and civil resistance will cope is much more uncertain.

The Pentagon noted that the Kremlin still wants its troops to take Kyiv, despite strong Ukrainian resistance.

“We have all indications that they still want to take Kyiv, that they are advancing on the ground and trying to get closer,” a senior defense official told CNBC on Monday, requesting anonymity to share new details from the Pentagon. Evaluation.

Separately, Teneo Intelligence analysts concluded on Monday that the Kremlin appears determined to eliminate Ukraine’s political leadership, while the Russian military movement implies preparations for new, possibly more severe military action against the capital Kyiv and other key cities in the coming days. “

However, the UK Ministry of Defense is taking a more sober look at Russia’s progress, tweeting Monday in its intelligence update that

Peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegates took place in neighboring Belarus on Monday, and although no breakthrough has been reached, there are hopes that talks will continue in the coming days.

For its part, Ukraine has vowed not to surrender to Russia and has called for an immediate ceasefire and for Russian forces to leave its territory.

“Ukraine is ready to continue seeking a diplomatic solution, but Ukraine is not ready to surrender or capitulate,” Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Monday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already expressed a pessimistic tone about the outcome of the talks, and Kuleba told CNBC he did not know if the talks would be successful.

“I am a diplomat, I must believe in the success of the negotiations, but at the same time my main goal as a diplomat now is to impose more sanctions on Russia, to bring more weapons to Ukraine and to isolate Russia as much as we can in the international arena.” that I am focused on this part of diplomacy, “Kuleba said

“We stand up not only for ourselves, but for the world order as we all know it.”

The Foreign Minister said that “every 24 hours is crucial because Russia has more and more military power against Ukraine, hundreds of tanks are moving in the country, they dominate the sky with their bombers, missiles, missiles are thrown at our peaceful cities “Civilians have been killed, but we continue to fight.”

He said the war had become a “real people’s war against Russian aggression”.

Russia has already carried out attacks both on the ground and in the air, with major cities reporting shelling and damage to buildings. Both sides said some of their soldiers had been killed, and Ukraine said several hundred of its citizens had died in Russian attacks, including several children.

The invasion has resulted in a huge number of Ukrainians trying to flee the security country of Eastern Europe, although many have also remained defending their homes and nation.

– Amanda Macias from CNBC contributed to the report on this story.