Section: bellingcat (UK)
MH17 – Russian GRU Commander ‘Orion’ Identified as Oleg Ivannikov
A joint investigation between Bellingcat, The Insider, and McClatchy DC Bureau has conclusively identified another key person of interest in the ongoing investigation of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17). The person known as ‘Andrey Ivanovich’, a.k.a. call sign ‘Orion’, is in fact a high-ranking Russian GRU...
Full Report: Russian Officers and Militants Identified as Perpetrators of the January 2015 Mariupol Artillery Strike
The full investigation can be downloaded here A collection of intercepted phone conversations that were used as research materials in this investigation can be accessed here Our directory of archived videos of the Mariupol shelling and its aftermath can be accessed here Our map summarizing the estimated trajectories and potential firing sites...
Russian Officers and Militants Identified as Perpetrators of the January 2015 Mariupol Artillery Strike
The Bellingcat Investigation Team has determined conclusively that the artillery attack on targets in the Ukrainian town of Mariupol on 24 January 2015, which resulted at least 30 civilian deaths and over 100 injuries, came from Russia-controlled territory. Bellingcat has also determined that the shelling operation was instructed, directed and...
The Curious Case of David Jewberg, the Fake Senior Pentagon Russia Analyst
Summary: “Senior Pentagon Russia Analyst LTC David Jewberg” maintained a popular Facebook page and was frequently quoted in Ukrainian and Russian media as a Pentagon insider related to topics concerning Ukraine and Russia. He represented himself as an actual person with the legal name “David Jewberg,” not as a persona or pseudonym. A number of...
Scottish Limited Partnerships – Scottish In Name Only
In June 2017, Bellingcat and Transparency International published a joint report entitled “Offshore in the UK” regarding Scottish Limited Partnerships (“SLPs”), their potential for misuse as a home-grown secrecy vehicle and their links to money laundering and corrupt wealth. On 26 June 2017 the Government enacted new regulations – requiring SLPs...
The Truth Behind the Russian Embassy to the Netherlands’ “Russia’s Strength is in Truth” Branding Proposal
On February 9 2018 the Russian Embassy to the Netherlands tweeted their suggestion for a brand “describing Russia’s position in world affairs”: It’s unclear if this was an attempt at humour, as in world affairs it would be fair to say Russia’s greatest weakness is in truth, as the work of Bellingcat and others has repeatedly...
How to Use and Interpret Data from Strava’s Activity Map
Recently, the fitness app Strava published a “heatmap” of trillion of data points visualizing the information of users who submitted or synchronized their fitness activity to their servers. This data includes both fitness information recorded directly on the fitness app and data synchronized with the app from a number of physical fitness...
The Kremlin’s Shifting, Self-Contradicting Narratives on MH17
Just a few hours after the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), the circumstances that caused the tragedy came to light: a Buk-M1 Russian-made anti-aircraft missile system was fired by either Russian-led separatists or Russian forces from an area near Snizhne, Ukraine, leading to the death of 298 civilians aboard the passenger plane....
Details on Newly Uncovered GRU Online Personas
On Christmas, Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post from published two widely shared reports on GRU (Russian military intelligence) activities in creating fake profiles on social networks, along with “astroturfed” political activist groups. The first, longer article, entitled “Kremlin trolls burned across the Internet as Washington debated...
British Intelligence Report Confirms Russian Military Origin of MH17 Murder Weapon
Today, December 20, the British Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament published its 122-page annual report. This report covers a wide range of topics, including cyber security, the status of the UK’s international relationships, the threat of foreign fighters, and so on. However, one almost anecdotal detail in the Russian...
