Live updates: Russia invades Ukraine

New satellite images show that Russian forces have withdrawn from Antonov Airport in Hostomel, some 29 kilometers northwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

The images, taken by Maxar Technologies on Thursday, confirm earlier information from a US Defense Department official, who told CNN he believed the Russian military had likely evacuated the airport.

Earlier satellite images showed that after weeks of digging at the airport, the Russians had built protective earthworks around military vehicles and artillery positions. Now only the berms remain.

First Russian victory: The capture of Antonov airfield was the first major Russian victory on the first day of the war, February 24. Several transport and attack helicopters attacked the base and the Ukrainian soldiers stationed there; CNN witnessed the intense firefight at the base.

Since then, Ukrainian forces withstood the Russian advance; They’ve never made it closer to West Kyiv. Intense firefights took place along the Irpin River and the towns of Irpin and Bucha, south of the air base and Hostomel.

The Russian Defense Ministry released a series of videos praising the ease with which it claimed to have taken the airbase. Russian state media repeated these claims and even toured the airport with troops to prove how safe the area was.

Now the abandonment is another example of Russia’s dwindling military success around the Ukrainian capital.

Russian repositioning: It is currently unclear where the military and artillery vehicles were going. Russia has previously claimed it would scale back its military activities around Kyiv. All forces and vehicles stationed west of Kyiv came from Belarus.

The Russians are not saying if they have returned to Belarus, and thick cloud cover is currently preventing satellite imagery from tracking Russian troop movements in the area.