Google Maps mishap: Ukraine's military sites exposed online
Google Maps has updated its satellite images of Ukraine's territory, revealing the locations of military facilities, reported Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Centre for Countering Disinformation. Google uses images from the American company Maxar, whose main clients are U.S. intelligence agencies.
"Imagine the situation. Google publishes updated images on maps that show the location of our military systems. We contacted them to quickly resolve this issue, but it's the weekend for them. There's no time for this," reported Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, on his Telegram on Sunday.
He said the Russian side has already started "actively disseminating" images from Google Maps. In particular, Z channels published screenshots of Ukrainian military facilities.
Satellite images showed, among other things, the airport in Kyiv Zhuliany, where updated images (taken on September 28, 2023) revealed air defence systems. According to sources, these could be Patriot systems. As "Kommersant" adds, Google Earth also featured images of the Starokostyantyniv airport in the Khmelnytsky region, showing planes and hangars.
According to Kovalenko, Google representatives contacted Ukrainian authorities and were already addressing the situation. "In the future, we will also discuss how to quickly solve any issues," he conveyed.
As "Kommersant" recalls, Google uses images from the American space company Maxar, whose main clients are the U.S. intelligence agencies National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
