Kumar Malhotra
Image source
A uniquely yellow-fronted apartment block visible behind helped us verify the footage.
We are checking images and video posted this morning that depict the scene of a reported car bomb explosion that Russian officials say fatally injured a senior soldier in Moscow.
Officials in Russia stated that Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was inside the vehicle that exploded and that he succumbed to his wounds. A probe is currently ongoing.
The initial step to verify the site of where the images originated was based on social media reports indicating the explosion happened on Yasenevaya Street in the southern district of the Russian capital.
Our analysis employed street-view imagery on Google Maps and the Russian search engine Yandex Maps to corroborate the unique yellow hue of a adjacent apartment building captured in the footage.
Identifying additional buildings, streetlights and the road configuration verified the exact location the pictures were taken.
We also checked that the videos were new and that the images had not been manipulated.
