'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
New satellite images released by a US-based technology company appear to show that Russia's military has advanced deployments at several locations in Belarus, a move likely to concern Ukraine and NATO amid fears that the Kremlin is planning an incursion into Ukrainian territory.
The deployments are likely linked to joint exercises between Russian and Belarus forces that are due to begin on Thursday. However, other photographs show camps being established close to the border with Ukraine, hundreds of miles from where the exercises are taking place.
Russia has repeatedly denied it is planning to attack Ukraine, despite Moscow's massive troop buildup in the region. The Kremlin is believed to have assembled 70% of the military personnel and weapons on Ukraine's borders that Russia would need for a full-scale invasion, according to two US officials familiar with Washington's latest intelligence estimates. However, it is unclear how long it would take Russian forces to ramp up further, or if they would need full capabilities in order to invade.
The images from Maxar -- taken Saturday -- are consistent with recently posted social media videos showing Russian forces moving through Belarus and creating field camps within 20 miles of the Ukrainian border.
Some of the imagery shows Belarus' Luninets airfield, where Russian fighter jets have deployed ahead of the exercises, dubbed Union Resolve 2022. Photographs show Russian S-400 air defence systems and Su-25 attack aircraft at the airfield. The Russian Defence Ministry released video on Saturday of the arrival of the planes at Luninets.
One of the S-400 battalions has travelled from Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East, a journey of more than 9,000 kilometres, according to Zvezda, a Russian Ministry of Defence publication.
Other photographs from Maxar show Russian forces establishing themselves at some distance from where the exercises are planned -- including at Rechitsa, a Belarusian city about 270 kilometres east of Luninets close to where the borders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine meet.
The force gathered there includes tanks, howitzers and infantry fighting vehicles.
The images show that for the first time several tent encampments have been created at Rechitsa. That development and recent footage from the area suggest a growing Russian presence there. Videos posted to social media show Russian troops entertaining local people in Rechitsa, with music and demonstrations at an event called Two Nations, One History, One People.
Several other images from Maxar show a growing Russian presence southwest of Rechitsa, and within 25 kilometres of the Ukrainian border, in rural areas close to the town of Yelsk.
Maxar assesses the deployment near Yelsk to include short-range Iskander ballistic missiles, which have a range of about 400 kilometres.
Analysts at IHS/Janes, a military intelligence firm, believe there are elements of at least three Russian Battalion Tactical Group at Yelsk.
The massive troop buildup has caused alarm among US and European leaders. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that Moscow's deployment into Belarus is the biggest since the Cold War.
One European diplomat called the massing of forces a "big, big worry," noting this would be the missing piece that Moscow would need to launch a quick attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, which is less than two hours from the border of Belarus.
Based on publicly available weather calculations, the optimal time for a Russian invasion would be while there is a hard ground freeze, so heavy equipment can readily move. US officials have said Putin would understand he needs to move by the end of March.
The White House, however, has stopped saying a potential Russian invasion is "imminent" due to concerns that the term suggests President Vladimir Putin has already made a decision to invade Ukraine.
"We still don't know that he's made a decision," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week.
Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said Sunday there was no evidence Russia will take "critical steps for a full-scale invasion" of the country, but added that Kyiv and its partners are preparing for any possible scenarios.
"The situation is completely under control. One way or another, we are not reducing the activity of diplomatic work to ensure a sustainable and full-fledged de-escalation," Podoliak told state media.
He noted that the "threatening concentration" of Russian troops at Ukraine's borders remains, but stressed that it has been "going on for several years."
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.