Emma Pengelly
Image source
A uniquely yellow-fronted residential building visible behind helped us verify the footage.
Our team is analyzing video footage and photographs circulated earlier today that depict the aftermath of a alleged vehicle-borne explosive explosion that authorities in Russia state killed a high-ranking military officer in Moscow.
Officials in Russia confirmed that Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was inside the car that detonated and that he later died of his injuries. A probe is currently ongoing.
The initial step to verify the site of where the pictures were from relied on social media reports indicating the explosion happened on Yasenevaya Ulitsa in the southern district of the Russian capital.
We used panoramic mapping services on Google Maps and the local mapping service Yandex Maps to corroborate the distinctive yellow colour of a adjacent apartment building captured in the footage.
Identifying additional buildings, streetlights and the road configuration verified where the pictures were taken.
Additionally, we verified that the videos were new and that the images had not been digital alteration.
