At least three Chinese reconnaissance satellites from the Yaogan-33 series passed over western Ukraine during Russia’s large missile-and-drone attack on Sunday, 5 October, according to open-source orbital data reviewed by the Ukrainian defence outlet Militarnyi. The passes coincided with strikes concentrated on the Lviv region.
Using the public satellite-tracking service Heavens-Above, Militarnyi reported that Yaogan-33, Yaogan-33-03 and Yaogan-33-04 made a total of nine passes over the Lviv area between 00:00 and approximately 11:30 local time on 5 October. An optical reconnaissance satellite, Yaogan-34, entered the region at around 06:00 and was expected to complete seven passes during the day.
The Yaogan constellation comprises Chinese government satellites widely assessed by independent analysts to conduct military reconnaissance, despite official descriptions that emphasise scientific experiments, earth-resources surveys and disaster prevention. The series includes platforms equipped for optical imaging, synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) and signals intelligence.
Orbital parameters place these spacecraft in low Earth orbit at roughly 700 km altitude, giving an orbital period of about 90 minutes. That profile enables frequent revisits over a given area, but it does not in itself confirm tasking or data collection over any particular target. Militarnyi noted that it is unknown whether the satellites conducted active reconnaissance during their passes on 5 October.
While the day’s attention centred on western Ukraine, particularly Lviv, the Yaogan fleet’s polar-type orbits allow coverage across the country. Open-source assessments suggest that more than 60 Yaogan satellites of various types have ground tracks enabling observation over Ukraine.
Public technical data on the specific capabilities of the Yaogan-33 series are limited. Earlier, first-generation Yaogan-1 SAR satellites—launched from 2006—were reported to carry an L-band radar with two principal modes: a high-resolution imaging mode offering ground sampling on the order of 5 metres with a swath width of about 40 km, and a lower-resolution mode around 20 metres with a wider swath of roughly 100 km. Given the generation gap, analysts consider it likely that Yaogan-33 satellites field improved sensors and processing.
Yaogan-33 spacecraft were launched in batches during 2022–2023, including launches from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on 6 September and 26 September 2023 aboard Long March-4C rockets.
The reported satellite overflights on 5 October come amid claims of Russia–China cooperation in space-based intelligence relevant to the war. In early October 2025, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZR) stated that it had documented cases of China providing satellite reconnaissance data to Russia to support missile strikes on Ukrainian territory, including sites linked to foreign investors. The agency provided the comments to the state news agency Ukrinform.
International outlets subsequently reported the SZR remarks, noting the allegation that Chinese satellite intelligence was being shared with Russia for target selection inside Ukraine.
Separate reporting has pointed to direct Russian access to Chinese commercial imagery. In November 2022, a company connected to the Wagner network signed a contract valued at more than US$30 million (about 235 million yuan) to acquire two high-resolution earth-observation satellites from Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST), through Beijing Yunze Technology Co and the Russian entity Nika-Fruit LLC; the agreement also covered tasking services across CGST’s wider satellite network.
