Tracking the Venezuelan-affiliated Tanker 'Pursued' by the US Coast Guard

Kumar Malhotra

The distinctive yellow-fronted apartment block visible behind assisted us verify the footage.

We are analyzing video footage and photographs posted 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 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 site from which the images originated relied on social media reports indicating the blast occurred on Yasenevaya Street in the southern district of the Russian capital.

We used panoramic mapping services on Google Maps and the local mapping service Yandex to corroborate the unique yellow hue of a adjacent residential complex seen in the video.

Locating other structures, lamp-posts and the street layout verified where the footage were taken.

We also checked that the videos were recent and that the visuals had not been manipulated.