Following the Venezuelan-affiliated Tanker Reportedly Pursued by American Maritime Authorities
Kumar Malhotra
Image source
The distinctive yellow-fronted apartment block in the background assisted us verify the footage.
Our team is checking images and video circulated earlier today that show the scene of a alleged vehicle-borne explosive explosion that authorities in Russia state killed a high-ranking soldier in Moscow.
Russian authorities confirmed that Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was in the vehicle that detonated and that he succumbed to his wounds. An investigation is currently ongoing.
Our starting point to check the location of where the pictures were from relied on social media reports saying the blast happened on Yasenevaya Street in the southern part of the Russian capital.
We used panoramic mapping services on Google Maps and the local mapping service Yandex Maps to corroborate the unique yellow colour of a adjacent residential complex captured in the footage.
Identifying other buildings, lamp-posts and the street layout confirmed the exact location the pictures were taken.
We also checked that the videos were new and that the visuals had not undergone digital alteration.
