Google Maps denies that it has unblurred images of Russian military bases

Google has denied that it has ‘unblurred’ images of Russian Military bases, despite claims on Twitter that it “opened access to Russia’s military and strategic facilities.”

It comes after the Twitter account @ArmedForcesUkr posted a series of stills which appear to show military hardware.

While the account is not verified, it has been cited by the official Ukrainian Ministry of Defence account in the past.

The message posted by the account translates as: “Now everyone can see a variety of Russian launchers, intercontinental ballistic missile mines, command posts and secret landfills with a resolution of about 0.5 meters per pixel.”

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According to The Verge, Google has denied revealing new military bases over recent days on Google Maps despite it being picked up on by news outlets around the world.

While one of the images is available on Google Maps and does show an active Russian military site, Google told the publication that it’s not a new development and that they were available to find on Maps before the Russian invasion.

The picture was posted by Twitter account @ArmedForcesUkrGoogle Maps

Google spokesperson Genevieve Park said: “We haven’t made any blurring changes to our satellite imagery in Russia.”

It comes after Google started to stop offering certain services in Russia following the invasion, including pausing ad sales, banning Russian state media accounts from running ads and stopping access to Google Pay.

Other military sites are available to see on Google Maps too, even including the classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility Area 51.

It’s not just in Ukraine and Russia where Google Maps has been making the news recently.

Massive Chinese characters seemingly etched into land near The Great Wall of China have been spotted on Google Maps, prompting them to ask Redditors what it means.

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