Chinese reconnaissance satellites flew over Lviv region during massive Russian attack - media
During the massive Russian attack on the night of October 5 over western Ukraine, which bore the brunt of the assault, at least three Chinese SAR reconnaissance satellites flew overhead.
This is reported by the Military portal, citing data from the Heavens Above monitoring service, which tracks the movement of spacecraft, according to Censor.NET.
In particular, the Yaogan 33 series satellites Yaogan 33, Yaogan 33-03, and Yaogan 33-04 were spotted flying over Lviv, passing over the region a total of nine times between midnight and approximately 11:30 a.m.
At around 6:00 a.m., the Yaogan 34 optical satellite also entered the region and will make seven orbits over the region on October 5.
The publication notes that Chinese reconnaissance satellites fly not only over the western regions of Ukraine. In general, orbital parameters allow more than 60 different types of Yaogan series satellites to operate over Ukraine. They can perform optical, radar, and radio-electronic reconnaissance.
What is known about the Chinese Yaogan series satellites?
Satellites in this series are placed in low orbits at an altitude of about 700 kilometers. This allows them to make a complete revolution around the planet approximately every 90 minutes.
Military writes that there is little reliable information about the capabilities of Yaogan 33 satellites. According to the official Chinese position, satellites of this type are used for scientific experiments, land resource research, and natural disaster prevention. However, it is believed that these are actually military reconnaissance satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), similar to ICEYE satellites.
The article states that the Yaogan 33 satellites were launched in 2022–2023 and replaced the first-generation Yaogan-1 SAR reconnaissance satellites, which had been launched since 2006.
"At the same time, it should be noted that it is unknown whether these satellites conducted actual reconnaissance during their flights over Ukraine," writes Military.
Earlier it was reported that the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine recorded China's transfer of satellite information for strikes on targets in Ukraine, including investor facilities.
Massive attack by the Russian Federation on the night of October 5
We would like to remind you that on the night of October 5, 2025, Russian troops launched a combined strike on Ukrainian territory using strike UAVs and air-, sea-, and ground-based missiles.
According to preliminary data, as a result of a combined enemy strike with UAVs and cruise missiles in the Lviv region, a family of four was killed and six more were injured.
It is also known that as a result of enemy shelling in Zaporizhzhia, one person was killed and 10 were wounded.
