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| Nuclear weapons base near Murmansk, Russia /News Rebeat |
International Military - The giant company based in the US, namely Google is reported to have violated privacy. Google Maps as one of Google's platforms that provides web mapping through satellite imagery, has lifted the censorship restrictions. And the disadvantage here is Russia, Google Maps leaks sensitive locations of Russian military assets via satellite.
Quoted from Defense Security Asia, Google Maps shows the location of ballistic missile launch stations and various other military assets. These include the location of the aircraft carrier "dmiral Kuznetsov", the nuclear-powered battleship "Peter The Great" in Murmansk and the Slava-class cruiser "Marshal Ustinov".
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Two nuclear submarines near two smaller ones in Murmansk, and an air base in Kursk with a number of Su-57 warplanes in sight. Although it should be noted that the images shown are considered not up-to-date. which means that the image hasn't been updated for years, reports the Daily Mail.
Ukraine's Advantages and Russia's Disadvantages
According to the code of conduct, Google Maps only displays assets or military areas of a country with blurry or low resolution. With Russia's location and assets exposed at this time, Ukraine has practically benefited greatly in this protracted conflict.
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Even this news was also confirmed by Ukrainian troops who said that Russian military bases were visible on Google Maps, "Now everyone can see Russian missile launch stations, their command posts and even various secret ammunition storage areas," quoted from News Rebeat.
The imagery displayed from this satellite is a huge problem for Russia and its military, automatically providing Ukraine with information on their movements.
Google's Defense
It is true, the news that Google Maps leaked the location of Russian military assets came from Ukraine. "The Ukrainian military claims that this act of lifting the censorship restrictions is closely related to the ongoing conflict," it said.
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However, Google very clearly denied the report. Through a Google spokesman, said that satellite images of Russian military assets were actually accessible even before the conflict occurred.
However, Google did not remain silent regarding the current Russia-Ukraine war. Google has imposed a number of sanctions on Russia since the start of the conflict in late February, including:
- They have stopped selling news in Russia
- Sanctions regarding the termination of access to Google Play for some users there are in line with global economic sanctions.
- Prohibition of posting advertisements by Russian Government agencies on YouTube, Jakarta Zone citing Defense Security Asia.
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And in retaliation Russia threatened to fine Google for posting inaccurate information about the country on YouTube.