China's recognition satellites overdone the west of Ukraine during a Russian attack on the region
At least three recognition satellites, belonging to China, became the areas of western Ukraine, which were the target of a Russian attack with rockets and drones, on the night of 4 to 5 October, the specialized militarnyi publication reported, citing the HEAVEN ABOVE monitoring service.
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The satellites in the Yaogan 33 series overcome the western city of Liov, making a total of nine passes over the region between 00:00 and 11:30.
In addition, around 06:00, the Yaogan 34 recognition satellite entered the region and performed seven rotations above the area on October 5th.
In total, over 60 yaogan series satellites, capable of optical, radar and electronic recognition, have orbital parameters that allow them to operate above Ukraine, according to the quoted publication.
These satellites are in the low orbit of the Earth, at an altitude of about 700 km, and performs a complete rotation around the planet every 90 minutes.
The real capacities of these satellites are relatively unknown. Officially, they are used for scientific experiments, studies on terrestrial resources and prevention of natural disasters. However, there are suspicions that, in fact, they are satellites of military recognition equipped with radar with synthetic appetite (SAR), having capabilities similar to the satellites of the Finnish company Iceye, to whom Ukraine has access.
The Yaogan 33 satellites, launched between 2022-2023, replaced the first generation, Yaogan-1, launched recognition satellite.
“It is not known whether these satellites performed recognition during the Surlane of Ukraine,” writes Militarnyi.
At the beginning of October 2025, the Ukraine Foreign Intelligence Service reported evidence that China provided Russia with satellite information for rocket attacks on Ukraine, including against foreign investors.
“There are facts that indicate a high level of interaction between Russia and China in carrying out satellite recognitions of the Ukrainian territory to identify and target strategic sites. As we have seen in recent months, some of these sites belong to foreign investors,” said Oleh Alexandrov, representative of the External Intelligence Service of Ukraine, in a comment for Ukrin.
The service refused to provide additional details about specific Ukraine targets that were hit using Chinese satellites information
Relators that China provides Russia with information from their own satellites, used later in the war against Ukraine, appeared for the first time in 2024. At that time, however, the extent of cooperation remained unclear.
According to US secret services, China provides Russia with “all the necessary information”. These data are used both in the war against Ukraine and for monitoring the movements of NATO troops in Europe.
On the night of October 4-5, Russia launched over 50 missiles and about 500 attack drones against Ukraine, aimed at the Liov, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporojie, Cernihiv, Sumi, Kharkov, Herson, Odessa and Kirovohrad regions.
Four people were killed and eight other wounded in the LVIV region following the attack with drones and cruise missiles.
