Photo: Google Maps
Google has silently exposed Russia’s military sites on Google Maps, as the company has removed the blurred images protecting the country’s secret locations.
While the Mountain View-based search giant hasn’t released an announcement in this regard, the Ukrainian military forces were among the first to notice the change and announce it publicly.
The high-resolution satellite imagery now available on Google Maps allows pretty much anyone online to inspect Russia’s top-secret locations, including not only naval facilities but also military bases, flight-testing centers, intercontinental ballistic missile firing positions, and airbases close to key locations such as Kursk.
Furthermore, the data reveals the aircraft carrier cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, as well as several ammunition storage bases near Murmansk.
By default, Google (and other mapping service providers as well) is working with governments across the world to blur the location of secret sites, including military locations that can’t be exposed on Google Maps, Google Earth, and other mapping platforms owned by the company.
Google, however, has been among the largest tech giants to protest against the war in Ukraine. The company has blocked purchases on Google Play following the international sanctions against Russia.
While Google Maps exposing the location of top-secret Russian military locations is big news for Internet users, the online debate right now comes down to whether such data can help the Ukrainian troops or not.
The topic, however, is extremely complex, and any assumption would be pretty much just a guess. Some believe Ukraine is already in possession of such intel, either collected using its own systems or received from other states, while others remind us the country is currently focused on defending its borders, and the location of Russian bases doesn’t help much anyway.
In the meantime, Google has remained completely tight-lipped on the unblurred images available on Google Maps.
The high-resolution satellite imagery now available on Google Maps allows pretty much anyone online to inspect Russia’s top-secret locations, including not only naval facilities but also military bases, flight-testing centers, intercontinental ballistic missile firing positions, and airbases close to key locations such as Kursk.
Furthermore, the data reveals the aircraft carrier cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, as well as several ammunition storage bases near Murmansk.
By default, Google (and other mapping service providers as well) is working with governments across the world to blur the location of secret sites, including military locations that can’t be exposed on Google Maps, Google Earth, and other mapping platforms owned by the company.
Google, however, has been among the largest tech giants to protest against the war in Ukraine. The company has blocked purchases on Google Play following the international sanctions against Russia.
While Google Maps exposing the location of top-secret Russian military locations is big news for Internet users, the online debate right now comes down to whether such data can help the Ukrainian troops or not.
The topic, however, is extremely complex, and any assumption would be pretty much just a guess. Some believe Ukraine is already in possession of such intel, either collected using its own systems or received from other states, while others remind us the country is currently focused on defending its borders, and the location of Russian bases doesn’t help much anyway.
In the meantime, Google has remained completely tight-lipped on the unblurred images available on Google Maps.
UPDATE (April 19): Google has offered a statement, explaining that it didn't make any changes regarding the blurred images in Russia.??GOOGLE MAPS ??????? ?????? ?? ?????????? ?? ???????????? ??’????? ?????.
— Armed Forces ???????? (@ArmedForcesUkr) April 18, 2022
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