Google Maps denied reports Monday that it had made Russia’s strategic facilities visible to users, allegedly revealing details of the country’s military infrastructure.
Satellite images of military facilities are sometimes blurred by Google Maps, or displayed in lower quality, to protect their classified status.
“We haven’t made any blurring changes to our satellite imagery in Russia,” Google spokesperson Genevieve Park said in an email quoted by US media site The Verge.
Images circulating online Monday of nuclear weapons stores, submarines, and military bases in Russia were likely genuine, but visible on Google Maps long before the conflict in Ukraine.
The reports of Google removing the blurring were widely shared on social media.
“Now everyone can see [Russian military infrastructure] with a resolution of about 0.5 meters per pixel,” tweeted an account linked to the Ukrainian armed forces.
The incident came amid strained relations between Russia and Google. In connection with Russia’s war on Ukraine, the US digital giant previously stopped sales of its cloud and advertising services to customers based in Russia. The company also suspended billing on its Play mobile app store as well as payment-based services for YouTube users in Russia, citing “payment system disruption.”
On its side Russia has blocked access to Google News from its territory and is threatening to do the same with YouTube.
