(NewsNation) — Startling satellite images distributed by Maxar Technologies have provided an acutely detailed view of the war in Ukraine as it has unfolded.

The private U.S. company’s near-real-time satellite imagery has been regularly referenced by journalists covering the Russian invasion.

As their eye-in-the-sky, reporters no longer have to rely solely on statements from government officials or wade through propaganda from government-run news organizations.

Early in its offensive, Russia’s claims that it was pulling back troops from the Ukraine border was proven false as satellite images confirmed Russia had in fact increased its troop presence.

“Unfortunately there’s a difference between what Russia says and what it does, and what we’re seeing is no meaningful pullback,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview at the time.

That “seeing” can in part be attributed to Maxar’s open-sourced intelligence breaking through a traditionally thick fog of war.

Maxar Technologies Inc. is a space technology company headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, with the mission of helping organizations explore space, connect humanity and protect our planet and its people, according to its website.

Maxar has close ties to the U.S. government and is one of several satellite companies that provide Google with images for its Maps and Earth services.

The company’s images from over Eastern Europe have also provided the public with an unprecedented view of the ongoing Russian ground offensive and field deployments.

The images have shown a huge 40-mile-long convoy of Russian tanks and military vehicles advancing on — and stalling en route to — the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Satellite photographs of Mariupol have shown massive destruction of what was once a city of 400,000 people, with columns of smoke rising from residential apartment buildings in flames.

Maxar’s images have shown Russian military deployment of armored vehicles in residential areas, buildings and fuel storage tanks on fire, muzzle flashes and smoke from big guns, and impact craters and burning homes.

The images have also documented the scale of the devastation across the Ukraine countryside in before-and-after images.

Maxar said its images even showed the word “children” in large Russian script painted on the ground outside the red-roofed Mariupol Drama Theatre housing hundreds of refugees as it was targeted by Russian shelling.

Expect to see more images from Maxar as the war in Ukraine wears on.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.