The presence of Russian T-72B3 tanks in eastern Ukraine has previously been established and covered on Bellingcat. The tanks have reportedly been used near Ilovaisk, the Luhansk airport and even Debaltseve. The T-72B3 represents post-Soviet tank development by the Russian Federation, and was not exported to or fielded by Ukraine. Another post-Soviet development with its…
Open-source tracking and monitoring of environmental health risks of targeting industrial sites Additional research and map making by Foeke Postma @FoekePostma As the fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russia-backed forces re-ignited at the end of January 2017, various news reports highlighted the shelling of industrial sites. Calls by the United Nations and Organisation for Security…
On March 16, 2017, popular Ukrainian Twitter user @GirkinGirkin published a tweet sharing imagery of armored vehicles, including tanks. The user claims that the photographs were uploaded on the same day near Buhaivka, Luhansk oblast, thus in an area currently not under the control of the Ukrainian government. After analyzing new satellite imagery from Digital…
Over the last two months, increased shelling in and around industrial sites north of Donetsk have, apart from the direct civilian casualties costs, posed huge public health and environmental risks. Apart from the wider environmental impacts caused by targeting industrial sites, on several occasions, Russia-backed forces have hit various water treatment stations. These facilities host…
Following the publication of “Identifying Khmuryi, the Major General Linked to the Downing of MH17,” additional information has surfaced that further confirms the identity of Khmuryi as Sergey Nikolaevich Dubinsky, born August 9, 1962. The clearest confirmation of our investigation came courtesy of Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin, who was photographed with Dubinsky on his Odnoklassniki profile….
On February 1, Tom Burridge of the BBC shared a video on Twitter showing Ukrainian troops and tanks in what appeared to be a residential area in Avdiivka. We met Ukrainian troops and tanks in #Avdiivka who seemed ready for action – and we could hear that there is no ceasefire here #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/9HGDrNAkWJ —…
This report was written in collaboration with the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT). The title of this report was modified following feedback regarding the term human shield. The use of Grads in this area of Donetsk endangers civilian lives, but is not intended to meet the legal definition of human shields. The legal term ‘endangering protected…
The following investigation was originally posted in Russian by the author, Askai707, on his LiveJournal blog. Translation and foreword by Aric Toler. The following investigation from Askai707 provides a significant amount of evidence that proves the direct participation of Russia’s 61st Separate Naval Infantry Brigade (often referred to as just the “61st Naval Infantry Brigade”…
On September 28, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) held a press conference in which they presented evidence surrounding the downing of Flight MH17. Leading up to the event, the JIT made its intent clear: the weapon type and launch site would be announced, but no blame would be directly assigned. The JIT followed through on its…
On July 21st 2014 the Russian Defence Ministry presented their evidence relating to the downing of Flight MH17 on July 17th 2014. Bellingcat has previously examined the claims made in this press conference in great detail, demonstrating how all the major claims made in the press conference were false, from claims about satellite imagery to…
