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Yi Ma
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A uniquely yellow-fronted apartment block visible behind assisted us verify the footage.
We are checking video footage and photographs shared this morning that depict the scene of a alleged vehicle-borne explosive blast that Russian officials state fatally injured a high-ranking soldier in Moscow.
Officials in Russia confirmed that Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was inside the vehicle that detonated and that he later died to his wounds. A probe is currently ongoing.
Our starting point to verify the location from which the images originated relied on social media reports saying the blast happened on Yasenevaya Ulitsa in the southern district of the capital city of Russia.
We used street-view imagery on digital map platforms and the Russian search engine Yandex to corroborate the unique yellow hue of a adjacent residential complex seen in the footage.
Locating other structures, streetlights and the street layout confirmed 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.