Following a Venezuela-linked Vessel Reportedly Pursued by American Maritime Authorities
Kumar Malhotra
Source
The distinctive yellow-colored apartment block in the background helped us locate the footage.
We are verifying images and video posted this morning that purport to show the aftermath of a reported vehicle-borne explosive explosion that authorities in Russia state killed a high-ranking military officer in Moscow.
Officials in Russia confirmed that Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was inside the vehicle that exploded and that he succumbed to his injuries. An investigation is under way.
Our starting point to verify the location of where the images were from was based on posts saying the explosion happened on Yasenevaya Street in the southern district of the capital city of Russia.
Our analysis employed panoramic mapping services on Google Maps and the local mapping service Yandex Maps to match the unique yellow colour of a nearby apartment building seen in the video.
Identifying other buildings, streetlights and the road configuration confirmed the exact location the footage were taken.
Additionally, we verified that the video clips were new and that the images had not undergone digital alteration.
