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Google Maps images revealing the sites of Ukrainian weapons were over a year old and came from public sources, the US tech giant says.
The comment followed accusations that Google Maps revealed the locations of Ukrainian weapons systems in recently updated images.
The accusations were made by Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council.
“These satellite images were taken more than a year ago and come from publicly available sources — we deliberately do not publish the latest images of war zones,” Google’s press service said.
“We take such requests very seriously and are in constant communication with Ukrainian officials.”
Kovalenko said that images of Ukrainian defences were visible on Google Maps and that Russian forces were “actively dispersing” the images.
According to Kovalenko, Google representatives contacted Ukraine to resolve the issue after public outcry over the images.
“In the future, we will also talk about how to solve any (similar) problems quickly,” Kovalenko said.
The official had previously complained that his department had been trying to reach the US-based Google to fix the problem quickly but did not receive an immediate response.
NORTH KOREANS ENGAGED
Meanwhile, news outlets report Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as saying that that the first battles between the Ukrainian military and North Korean troops had opened “a new page in instability in the world”.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed in an interview with South Korean television that the first engagement had occurred with North Korean troops.
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, thanked those in the world who, he said, were “preparing action to support our defence”.
“The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world,” he said.
Umerov told South Korea’s KBS television that there had been a “small engagement” with North Korean troops.
“Yes, I think so. It is (an) engagement,” Umerov said in English when asked if a clash had occurred.
The report, with excerpts from the interview, quoted Umerov as saying that the engagement was small and not yet systematic in terms of mobilising soldiers.
