Russian Defense Ministry again portrays Ukraine combat footage as “strikes on AFU in Kursk” despite partially blurred video exposing terrain

RU

Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has once again released a video claiming to show Russian forces “striking a concentration of manpower and equipment” purportedly “in the border area of the Kursk Region.” However, the videos were actually recorded in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions of Ukraine — far from the claimed locations. Although the MoD blurred parts of the footage in an attempt to conceal where they were filmed, the open-source intelligence (OSINT) project EjShahid was still able to geolocate the areas by using reflections on the helicopter camera's glass. The Insider was able to independently verify EjShahid’s observations.

One of the videos, published on August 23, was accompanied by a statement from the MoD claiming:

“The crew of the Su-34 multifunctional aviation complex of [Russia’s] Air and Space Forces carried out a strike on a concentration of manpower and armored vehicles of AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] units in the border area of the Kursk Region. The strike targeted reconnaissance camouflaged enemy positions using modernized aerial bombs with a universal planning and correction module. After receiving intelligence confirmation of the destruction of AFU personnel and armored vehicles, the crew returned to the airfield.”

In reality, as confirmed by EjShahid, the footage was shot over Maryanivka in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Region — 460 kilometers (285 miles) from the Kursk Region border.