Russia Vs Ukraine Crisis: Google Disables Maps Tools In Ukraine Used To Track Troops & Civilians

Movements of troops and civilians in Ukraine during the Russian invasion will no longer be effective as Google has disabled several maps tools used in Ukraine for tracking.

Experts say Russian and Ukrainian authorities can use Google Maps ‘live traffic feature to flag traffic jams and other road conditions based on speed and location data from users’ phones to track each other’s movements.

Researchers using the tool last week were able to spot Russian forces moving toward the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv – hours before the first bombs fell.

Jeffrey Lewis, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Professor of Arms Control Has been written On Twitter they have used the “see the first signs of an attack using the traffic layer of @googlemaps”.

“I think big data companies generally don’t want to deal with how useful their data can be,” Lewis Said Wise. “I mean, it’s cool when we do it, right? It would be less cool if the Russians could do something like marking the invasion of the Ukrainians.

The live traffic feature has been used to track Ukrainian citizens fleeing the conflict, with screenshots showing miles of traffic jams filled with refugees across the country’s borders with Poland.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, at least 400,000 Ukrainians have fled the Russian invasion of neighboring countries.

A Google spokesperson confirmed to The Post that the company has deactivated the live traffic feature for the safety of Ukrainians after consulting with regional authorities.

Google added that drivers using turn-by-turn navigation in Ukraine can still access traffic information.

The company says it has disabled the Google Maps feature in Ukraine, which uses location data to show the “busyness” of places like grocery stores and restaurants.

The Russian army is besieging large cities, including Kharkiv and Kyiv, and killing hundreds of civilians, a feature that could theoretically be used to target populated areas.

Other Big Tech companies have taken steps to help protect Ukrainians from Russian aggression.

Facebook said on Monday it had deactivated nearly 40 fake accounts, groups, and pages targeting people who had been promoting fake news articles about the war in Ukraine.

Facebook has imposed restrictions on Russian state media, including patron meta, gaggle-owned YouTube and Twitter RT, and Sputnik.