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Google Maps removes images showing Ukrainian military facilities

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council says Google Maps has removed satellite images revealing the locations of certain Ukrainian military facilities. “Google has fixed the situation with the maps. Everything will be fine going forward as well,” reported Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the council’s Countering Disinformation Center.

On Wednesday, Kovalenko said he would meet with Google representatives to explain Kyiv’s concerns about satellite photos recently added to the company’s maps service. “Even if these are images from a year ago, it’s unacceptable,” he argued. 

Ukrainian officials have not specified which facilities Google potentially compromised, but Kovalenko claimed earlier this week that the Russian media began “actively promoting” the released images. He also complained that Google only contacted the Ukrainian authorities after public outrage.

Mapping services, including Google Maps, often blur satellite images of military facilities in various countries or publish them in low resolution. For example, Yandex Maps now blurs satellite images of Russian military airfields.

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