This week we have been analyzing footage of reported drone and missile strikes in Russia and Ukraine as both sides have traded air attacks.
It’s really important for us to keep track of these strikes as they help us tell the story of a war that is now in its fourth year. This conflict can be really difficult for journalists to cover.
Strikes happen largely at night and sometimes in places where international journalists cannot report from, like Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
This is why we regularly source and verify social media videos—often filmed on mobile phones and laced with expletives—to report what is happening.
It’s not always possible to get to the bottom of a strike just by using footage we have spotted online, but these videos still play an important part in getting a better idea of the war’s progress.