Russia building massive army base in occupied Ukrainian city

Russia is building a large army base in the captured port city of Mariupol in east Ukraine, satellite photos released by Maxar Technologies revealed. In the images, a U-shaped compound near the centre of the city, with the roof painted in the red, white and blue star of the Russian army can be seen.

The Russian Army slogan can also be seen on the roof with the message, "From Russian army for Mariupol citizens", Hindustan Times reports.

Maxar Technologies in a tweet claimed that the building appeared to be a military facility, which is being used as weapons storage.

"In Mariupol, a Russian military compound has been recently built in the north centre of the city. Notice the Russian Army slogan on the top of the roof,” it tweeted.

“The main city cemetery (Starokrymske) on the western side of Mariupol has had a significant expansion of the number of graves,” it said in another tweet.

According to Maxar, the city’s main cemetery has also been expanded.

The satellite images further suggest that Moscow has demolished many of the residential buildings that were left beyond repair. According to Ukraine, around 90 per cent of the city's infrastructure was decimated by the Russian strikes.

Mariupol remains strategically important for Russia, forming part of its “land bridge” linking Russia to annexed Crimea.