Night-time light loss during the 2022 Kyiv offensive revealed through VIIRS DNB

Abstract

ABSTRACT The satellite low-light imagers can detect changes in nighttime lights caused by ground military conflict. The Kyiv Offensive in Kyiv, Ukraine, which lasted less than 40 days during the Russia – Ukraine conflict, began on 24 February 2022. In addition to the monthly light product, we included a daily light product to analyse the number and average intensity of light pixels in the area around Kyiv over time. The changing trends of two parameters are similar. From February to March, the number of light pixels dropped by 65.2%, and average intensity by 24.5%. To account for daily fluctuations, the relative light ratio was introduced, comparing Kyiv to Moscow, Gomel, and Warsaw. This parameter showed a significant decrease in both the number and intensity of light pixels between days 411 and 423 since January 1, 2021, aligning with the conflict’s start. The relative light ratio revealed a 70.6%, 63.5%, and 57.3% drop in light pixel numbers, and a 9.5%, 24.2%, and 48.4% drop in their average intensity for the respective city pairs. However, unusual fluctuations in the reference cities, such as in Gomel during Christmas and in Moscow at the conflict’s onset, present some problems in using the relative light ratio.