Russia’s most-used map app is erasing a Baltic missile site that Western maps still show
The concealment appears only on Yandex, leaving Google, Apple, and Microsoft to reveal exactly what Moscow wanted buried.
Russia's leading mapping service, Yandex, has digitally obscured a missile site near Finland, according to Finnish broadcaster Yle. This alteration involves replacing the site with a fake forest on satellite imagery. Nevertheless, Western map services still display the accurate position. A Finnish military analyst described the concealment as careless and self-defeating, indicating Russia's mounting concern over Ukrainian drones.
These drones have recently reached thousands of kilometers into Russia, targeting refineries, defense plants, and naval yards once considered secure. In response, Russia's map service attempted to conceal a missile site near Kronstadt naval base on Kotlin Island, off St. Petersburg. The site, which includes a Bastion anti-ship missile battery, was replaced with trees from another image.
However, this tactic is unlikely to be effective, as Western and Ukrainian analysts rely on their own satellite imagery, which reveals the concealed location. This cover-up is yet another example of Russia's efforts to hide sensitive sites from potential Ukrainian drone strikes.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
