Eyes on Russia Map
The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) is an independent, non-profit social enterprise dedicated to countering disinformation, exposing human rights abuses, and combating online behaviour harmful to women and minorities.
In January 2022, CIR launched the Eyes on Russia project to collect and verify videos, photos, satellite imagery or other media related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Our objective was to provide journalists, NGOs, policymakers and the public access to verified, trustworthy information.
Since then, the Eyes on Russia project has coordinated research by the wider OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) community including Bellingcat and GeoConfirmed, with support from Advance Democracy, Inc. The database of verified information is the collective product of that community.
Verified information is stored in a database and represented on the Russia-Ukraine Monitor Map with one simple goal: to provide the world with timely and reliable information concerning the impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine and its people.
Building on the original map that was developed and maintained with support from MapHub, CIR collaborated with C4ADS to develop an updated vision for the Eyes on Russia Map. C4ADS, a non-profit organization dedicated to defeating the illicit networks that threaten global peace and security, joined the Eyes on Russia project with the aim to produce a new version of the map that would expand the ways researchers can set search terms and interact with the map to advance their analysis.
The sections below explain how to use the new map, describe the definitions used by the Eyes on Russia project and the Eyes on Russia Map, and list the issues researchers should acknowledge when interpreting data and handling graphic imagery.
For more information on how the Eyes on Russia project collects, verifies and investigates open source information, watch the video Eyes on Russia – Mapping Russia’s War on Ukraine.
The map draws on the database of videos, photos, satellite imagery or other media related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that CIR’s Eyes on Russia project has been collecting and verifying since January 2022. CIR has verified the authenticity and location of all information contained in the database.
You can select the data to be shown on the map in four ways:
These search functions can be applied together or on their own. Descriptions of the Categories and Sectors are provided below.
The map will present data complying with your search parameters. Each pin on the map represents a piece of verified data. You can continue your analysis of the data:
For an interactive tutorial on using the map, please refer to the video Eyes on Russia – Mapping Russia’s War on Ukraine.