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Kumar Malhotra
Image source
A uniquely yellow-fronted residential building visible behind assisted us verify the footage.
We are verifying video footage and photographs circulated this morning that depict the aftermath of a alleged vehicle-borne explosive explosion that authorities in Russia say killed a high-ranking military officer in Moscow.
Russian authorities stated that Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was in the vehicle that exploded and that he succumbed of his injuries. An investigation is under way.
Our starting point to verify the location from which the pictures were from relied on social media reports indicating the explosion occurred on Yasenevaya Ulitsa in the southern part of the Russian capital.
Our analysis employed street-view imagery on digital map platforms and the local mapping service Yandex to match the unique yellow hue of a adjacent apartment building seen in the video.
Locating other buildings, lamp-posts and the street layout verified the exact location the pictures were taken.
We also checked that the videos were new and that the images had not been digital alteration.
