Yandex Adds Forest to Hide Missile Site Near Kronstadt
Yandex has covered a military facility on the map with a forest overlay; according to Yle, on a satellite image in Yandex Maps, the image of a forest was copied using a graphic editor over a missile battery near Kronstadt.
Consensus
- Yandex altered satellite images on its map service to conceal a military object near Kronstadt.
- The alteration involved overlaying a copied forest image over the site of a Russian missile battery.
- The military object previously housed anti-ship missile systems 'Bastion', radar systems, and electronic warfare equipment.
- The same military site remains visible on satellite maps from Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
- Experts, including former Finnish military intelligence officer Marco Eklund, consider the concealment operationally ineffective.
- The change marks a shift from previous practice of blurring sensitive areas.
- The move may be linked to Russian government directives restricting public access to images of certain military facilities.
- The site was last seen with active equipment on satellite images from April 2026.
- Ukrainian drone attacks on Kronstadt occurred in early June 2024, including on June 3 and June 6.
- Yandex did not respond to requests for comment from the media outlets reporting on the issue.
Points of divergence
- The missile position was hidden due to Ukrainian drone attacks in early June and July 2024. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- In January 2025, a court ordered Yandex to hide satellite images of the Rязan NPP, owned by Rosneft, due to its inclusion in the state defense industry registry. — tg_echoonline_news
- The equipment may have been moved to closed hangars or deployed on exercises, based on the absence of visible assets on recent satellite images. — tg_paperpaper_ru
- The forest overlay was applied to the area of Koltin Island near Kronstadt, and the editing was done poorly, with visible seams and repeated patterns. — tg_radiosvoboda
Coverage (12 sources)
- Yle: "Yandex Maps" replaced the Russian missile battery near Kronstadt with a forest — Настоящее Время
- Yandex began drawing forests on maps to hide Russian military objects — The Moscow Times
- «Yandex» on its own maps began drawing forest on satellite images to hide military objects, attention was drawn by... — Varlamov News
- «Yandex» painted over a forest on the site of a Russian rocket battery under St. Petersburg — Yle — ЭХО / Новости
- Yandex has overlaid a forest on the map to hide a military object — Дождь
- Yandex Maps may have drawn forest on site of military object near Kronstadt — Yle — Бумага
- Yandex has overlaid forest on the map to conceal a military object — Дождь (Telegram)
- «Yandex» edited satellite image of rocket position near Kronstadt, replacing entire object with forest image — The Insider
- Looks absurd. Yandex drew a forest on satellite images to hide a missile battery under St. Petersburg — Радио Свобода
- Looks absurd. Yandex drew a forest on satellite images to hide a missile battery under St. Petersburg — Север.Реалии
- YLE: «Yandex» drew forest on maps to hide military objects — Meduza
- Yandex began drawing forest on satellite images to hide military objects — Агентство. Новости