Locating a Venezuela-linked Vessel 'Pursued' by the US Coast Guard

Yi Ma

Source

We are checking video footage and photographs shared earlier today that show the aftermath of a reported vehicle-borne explosive explosion that authorities in Russia say fatally injured a high-ranking military officer in Moscow.

Russian authorities confirmed that Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was in the vehicle that exploded and that he later died of his wounds. A probe is under way.

The initial step to check the site from which the pictures were from relied on posts indicating the blast occurred on Yasenevaya Ulitsa in the southern part of the Russian capital.

Our analysis employed panoramic mapping services on Google Maps and the Russian search engine Yandex Maps to corroborate the distinctive yellow hue of a nearby apartment building captured in the video.

Locating additional structures, streetlights and the street layout verified the exact location the pictures were taken.

We also checked that the video clips were recent and that the images had not undergone digital alteration.