Finland's public broadcaster YLE reported that editors at Yandex Maps concealed a satellite image of a missile position near Kronstadt, replacing the object with a copied fragment of forest. The image shows visible stitching seams and repeating patches of vegetation.
Previously, Yandex blurred military and other sensitive objects in individual areas. In the case of Kronstadt, editors attempted to completely hide the existence of the position. According to YLE, the area previously housed Bastion anti-ship missile systems, radar systems, and electronic intelligence equipment.
Marko Eklund, a former Finnish military intelligence officer, identified launchers and radars in a Google Earth image from July 2022. The equipment was last reliably detected at the position in April 2026; in more recent Western images, the vehicles are not visible.
Eklund considers such retouching militarily pointless, since Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies use their own satellite imagery. In his view, the editing stems from an administrative ban on publishing images of certain objects. Yandex did not respond to YLE's request for comment at the time of publication.
In 2024, a Russian court ordered Yandex to hide the Ryazan oil refinery in satellite images due to Ukrainian drone attacks. A joint investigation by Nordic media counted 119 blurred objects in western Russia, including military bases and nuclear power plants. Among the hidden areas was Vladimir Putin's residence on Valdai.
Kronstadt remains one of Russia's key Baltic Fleet bases. In June, Ukrainian drones struck the missile corvette Boyky in a dry dock, causing a fire after two hits. Subsequent analysis of satellite images showed serious damage to the ship's radar systems and electronic warfare equipment.