We have another confirmation of the Molfar OSINT community successful work. The identified location turned out to be the place of the last way start point for the Russian military. We can confirm the defeat of personnel, armored vehicles and places of temporary deployment of Russian Federation occupation troops.
Previous article in this series 👉 Molfar finds military targets on social media
Popasna is a town located 25 kilometers northeast of Bakhmut. The war came to Popasna back in 2014, when Russian troops entered the town with fighting. As part of the ATO, Popasna was liberated from terrorists on July 22, 2014, but the shelling and attacks on infrastructure and civilian buildings by Russian-backed militants did not stop. As a result, in early 2015, almost all residents left the city due to constant Russian shelling.
In 2022, as a result of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, after heavy street battles and artillery duels, the enemy occupied Popasna. This happened in late April – early May 2022. According to the head of the Luhansk Military District Administration, Serhiy Haidai: "There are no surviving houses in Popasna".
Well, we have good news from Popasna. Yes, the city is still under occupation. But Russian troops do not stop dying even in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT). They die even in the rear, we are closely watching this.
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How were the locations found?
Firstly, let us say that all the information presented in this article was relevant as of June 2022. After that, the relevance of the data was confirmed, and Russian troops had to suffer losses.
👉 Step one: identifying the area
On June 15, at 21:05, a video was posted on the Telegram channel of Russian “musician-volunteer” Petr Lundstrem, in which the author, while driving a car along Pervomaisk Street in Popasna, filmed a location with shelled houses near which military equipment and Russian soldiers were located.
While filming the video, Petr Lundstrem asked the soldier accompanying him: "Surely no one lives here now, right?" and received the answer: "No, of course, there is nothing here but the military."
👉 Step two: think about civilians
One important part of area identification is civilians. We need to assess how many civilians are in close proximity to military equipment and places of temporary occupation. We should never forget that the Russians use civilians as human shields.
On June 27, a video was posted on the YouTube channel KOLKHOZ DELO DOBROVOLNOE, in which a Russian military volunteer filmed military equipment moving through the streets, multistory apartment and private houses damaged by shelling, and the city's destroyed infrastructure. We can conclude that the video does not show any signs of civilians in the city. Also, on July 11, the UNIAN news website published an article stating that about 1,500 residents of Popasna who were in the city at the time of its final capture on May 8 were forcibly taken by Russian military to the neighboring city of Pervomaisk.
Evidence of military targets correct identification
After a detailed analysis of the video, we can note the identified places of military equipment temporary deployment and occupation forces personnel. This is the city of Popasna, Pervomaiska Street: houses 165, 167, 169, 171, 173, 175, 177. Identified:
- probable location of the headquarters/temporary headquarters;
- tanks, 2 pcs;
- armored vehicles, 3 pcs;
- support vehicles, 10 pcs.
📍 Coordinates of military targets: first object, second, third, fourth one, fifth and sixth.
Results of military target identification
When Serhiy Haidai said that there were no surviving houses in Popasna, he was lying. There were some surviving buildings, but they were few. It was these partially intact buildings that were occupied by the Russian terrorists forces. Well, they are not occupying them now.
We bought this satellite image at our own expense to demonstrate the military potential of OSINT intelligence in finding and identifying military targets. After conducting additional reconnaissance of the area with the help of regular UAVs, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck at the enemy's concentrations of equipment and manpower. Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine!
The fate of the Ukrainian adjuster, Petr Lundstrem
According to the Molfar OSINT community information, the recruited agent did his part for the TOT. Thanks to his photos and videos, numerous armored vehicles and personnel of the enemy troops were eliminated.
In early March 2023, Petr Lundstrem refused to cooperate further, left the adjustment and moved to the territory of the Russian Federation. Direct communication with the agent was cut off.
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