The Russian Base Hidden Beneath a Fake Forest on Satellite Maps

08/10/2026 · Bendobrown

Descrição

A Russian military base appears as a forest on Yandex satellite imagery. So how can you check what is really there, and whether the image you’re looking at is accurate?

In this OSINT tutorial, I investigate a fake forest in Russia near St Petersburg, compare it with Google Earth and Esri World Imagery Wayback, and examine another example in central Seoul, South Korea. The site in Russia was first identified by Finnish broadcaster Yle, and in this session I show how repeated patterns, inconsistent edges and comparisons with other imagery can reveal what a public satellite map has obscured.

This is also a practical tutorial on how to verify satellite images you come across in news reports, on social media or in your own research. We work through how to identify what an image shows, confirm its location, check when it was captured, and assess whether it supports the claims being made about it.

YOU’LL LEARN HOW TO
• Spot repeated textures and other signs of image manipulation.
• Match locations using roads, buildings, runways and natural features.
• Compare the same site across different map services.
• Use historical imagery to check changes over time.
• Distinguish an image’s capture date from its publication date.
• Apply a simple verification checklist: source, location, date and comparison.

Different imagery does not automatically mean manipulation. Capture dates, resolution, seasons and real changes on the ground can all affect what you see. The aim is to cross-check the evidence and understand what an image can, and cannot, tell you.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:17 Analysing the fake forest and spotting patterns
02:49 Cross-checking the location with Google Earth
04:00 Cross-checking the location with Esri World Imagery Wayback
05:24 Seoul: another fake forest on satellite maps
09:12 Hidden sites on satellite imagery
10:04 What a fake forest tells us vs blurring on satellite imagery
11:04 How to check satellite imagery yourself (checklist)
13:30 Final thoughts and resources

SOURCES AND TOOLS

Yle’s reporting on the Russian fake-forest example (in Finnish)
Reporting by Mika Mäkeläinen, graphics by Juha Rissanen:
https://yle.fi/a/74-20240624
Google Earth:
https://earth.google.com/web/search/kotlin+island/@60.01510457,29.70486774,8.88374837a,1669.60115119d,35y,-0h,0t,0r/data=CjsaDQoJL20vMDM5Y3p6GAEiJgokCdMUGXU1cxlAERTtyAsu10LAGbA2kVG73lVAIR4B1m0YLmbAQgIIAToDCgEwQgIIAEoNCP___________wEQAA?authuser=0
Esri World Imagery Wayback:
https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/wayback/#mapCenter=29.70074%2C60.01687%2C17&mode=explore&active=37965
Yandex Maps:
https://yandex.com/maps/21776/kronstadt/satellite/?ll=29.700372%2C60.016668&z=17
Naver Maps:
https://map.naver.com/p?c=14.22,0,0,2,dh

Esri’s explanation of imagery metadata and capture dates:
https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-living-atlas/imagery/wayback-with-world-imagery-metadata

MORE OSINT TUTORIALS AND RESOURCES
6 Free Satellite Imagery Tools: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0RQPOdXrqw
Finding a Giant Man on Satellite Imagery: https://youtu.be/3_7Cn_JSrZk
My website:
https://benjaminstrick.com/
OSINT Field Notes newsletter:
https://osintfieldnotes.substack.com/

Naver Maps X thread: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1604811584588611584?s=20
Generated satellite imagery: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1643875142232166402?s=20
More fake satellite imagery: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1625441586673770501?s=20
Disinformation attempts to undermine real satellite imagery: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1513085409403842564?s=20

Have you come across a satellite image that didn’t look right? Share the example and how you checked it in the comments.

Copyright monetisation for track 1232292: ID: 1CTNYDCZD384F7SW

#OSINT #SatelliteImagery #GoogleEarth

Palavra-chave: moçambique fotos

Tags: satellite imagery · disinformation · verification · OSINT · GEOINT · OSINT Techniques · Open Source Investigations · Google Earth · Google Maps

Comentários da comunidade

@idowhatiwantok YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 72

being from the photoshop era, my eye immediately saw the copy and paste blocks

@AlexRybakov-s5o YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 322

I served in the Russian missile forces. I’ll describe my experience—perhaps it will help you map out Russian nuclear sites. The roads leading to Russian military sites are paved with concrete slabs; such a road always leads to a military unit or another military facility. Our unit was responsible for one nuclear warhead and seven decoy silos scattered around the area. A decoy looks like this: a huge iron sheet on the ground simulating a silo, and next to it, an iron frame covered with a tarpaulin to simulate military hardware. The only real structures there are a bunker with a machine gun and two soldiers, who stand guard in four-day shifts. A real missile silo stands out clearly. A railway track runs from the silo to a hangar, allowing the missile to be periodically extracted for inspection. There are many buildings nearby: a soldiers' barracks, utility buildings, and so on. There is a lot of actual military hardware there. All in all, it is easily visible from a satellite. Officers are stationed there, guarded by a large number of soldiers. During maintenance—when the missile is extracted and inspected—a great deal of personnel and equipment gathers at the site. The Russian missile forces also operate mobile systems, such as the Topol-M. These are based at specific military units and only rarely leave their hangars to participate in exercises. I wrote this in Russian and used an online translator, so there may be errors or misunderstandings. Russia is a terrorist state; as long as it possesses nuclear weapons, it will continue to intimidate its neighbors and wage bloody war against former Soviet republics.

@mb-electricalservices YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 60

I used to spend hours upon hours looking at Siberia. It was fascinating. All the hidden but still visible tracks that go on for miles then just stop. All the weird shaped structures and buildings in the middle of nowhere. The likes of Greenland, Siberia, Antarctica etc etc fascinate me as it is quite clear there are super top secret things going on. Another aspect that is never really spoken of, the vast seas and oceans. I would bet my life on some crazy stuff going on out there both above and below the waves.

@georgimarkov2953 YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 19

Most probably an air-defence unit. Certainly historically the site was built to accomodate the S-75 Dvina/Volhov (SA-2 Guideline) SAM system - typical lay out with a radar and command post in the middle (in the hub) with 6 launch-pads, faned in circle, in rounded earth revetments and access roads like spokes.

@toastermon2272 YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 16

I think the real pros have an actual forest above their base. :D Great video, good insights and analysis!

@davidpippin3460 YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 14

Funny thing is, Yongsan base in Seoul is all but empty. US moved out over the past few years.

@sokrates297 YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 2

I can imagine AI generated streets used in the future to hide things instead of these splotches of forest.

@ChefGoreb YouTube · 30/09/2026 · 👍 4

@10:04 Even more interesting: On Apple and Google Maps, the Fake Forest is a blur, but the in Yandex pixelated site just nearby is shown in high res without any blur in A&G maps.