Following a Venezuela-linked Vessel 'Pursued' by American Maritime Authorities

Kumar Malhotra

Source

Our team is analyzing video footage and photographs shared earlier today that purport to show the aftermath of a reported car bomb explosion that Russian officials state killed a high-ranking soldier in Moscow.

Russian authorities confirmed that Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was inside the car that detonated and that he succumbed to his injuries. A probe is under way.

The initial step to verify the location from which the pictures originated was based on social media reports saying the explosion happened on Yasenevaya Ulitsa in the southern part of the capital city of Russia.

We used street-view imagery on digital map platforms and the Russian search engine Yandex Maps to corroborate the distinctive yellow colour of a adjacent residential complex captured in the footage.

Identifying other buildings, streetlights and the street layout verified the exact location the footage were taken.

Additionally, we verified that the video clips were recent and that the images had not been digital alteration.