Overnight, Ukraine’s military said it struck 20 Russian vessels in the Black Sea, expanding its target area to south of the Kerch Strait. On Planet Labs satellite imagery taken on July 13, many vessels were still present in this region prior to the reported strikes.

The fire from this ship, located off the coast of Crimea, was detected on NASA FIRMS on July 6. More than a week later, smoke from the ship is still visible. Satellite images also show an oil slick coming from the vessel for multiple days.

Recent satellite imagery shows vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait on fire, with smoke plumes and oil spills visible around the ships.

Ukraine’s military said it struck 116 Russian vessels over the past nine days. The drone attacks have reportedly forced Russia to suspend shipping operations in the Sea of Azov. Satellite imagery shows ship traffic near the Kerch Strait has ceased since the attacks began.

How do you apply investigative skills to environmental stories? Join us tomorrow for a live talk with Press Awards Environmental Journalist of the Year Costanza Gambarini (@source-material.org). She'll explain how she combines digital research with rigorous reporting. discord.gg/bellingcat?e...

Firefighters announced on Tuesday that over 1900 hectares of forest had gone up in flames during the wildfires near Fontainebleau forest, South-East of Paris. This Sentinel-2 satellite image captured the extent of the fires on July 13.

We’re back with a brand-new Bellingcat Open Source Challenge! This month they were created by a guest contributor who has manipulated a series of images. Can you spot what has been edited? Try them here: Challenge.bellingcat.com

Mei Ba sold products from many protected and endangered species, including the critically endangered Indochinese leopard. He frequently claimed the leopard parts came from wild animals, of which fewer than 800 mature individuals are believed to remain.

The seller frequently posted claims about the authenticity of the animal body parts as well as footage and images of animals before, during and after they were killed. Many of the animals featured in the advertisements are protected or endangered.

Why do we publish every step and tool we use in our investigations? Because anyone should be able to verify our work. Consider supporting this work by becoming a member: www.bellingcat.com/donate/?utm_...

In this guide, we explore ways to analyse and report on the scale and severity of wildfires, including those in protected areas, where ecosystems are often most fragile.

For over a decade we've tracked missiles, exposed poisoners, and followed the evidence. No paywall. No anonymous sources. No government funding. Just public-interest journalism. Today we launch Bellingcat Membership to maintain our independence. Support our work: www.bellingcat.com/donate/?utm_...

What role can technology play in tackling leaked intimate imagery? Join our live podcast on Thursday with Madelaine Thomas of @imageangel.bsky.social for a talk on building protective tech responsibly and the practical challenges of dealing with image-based abuse. discord.gg/bellingcat?e...

Dixon also posed for photos during the tournament, but it appears he did have some reticence about appearing on social media. In two images from a different padel event, his face had been covered. However, a third photo was not edited, confirming that it was Ian Dixon.

Bellingcat and @thetimes.com reveal how a racquet sport hobby has left behind a digital trail leading to Ian Thomas Dixon. Authorities allege the Irishman helped the Kinahan cartel move bulk cash across Europe, arranging payments and keeping tabs on money owed by a narco-trafficker.

Toolkit Guardian @afko.bsky.social has been looking into these resources, testing their usability for open source investigations:

Toolkit Guardian @anisashabir.bsky.social manages our Image and Video analysis category in the Bellingcat Toolkit. Here’s what they think about these open source resources:

Toolkit Guardian Lieth Sánchez has tried and tested many tools in this category, but not all of them are designed for investigations. One recent resource is a bird identification app. Find out how you can use this tool here: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

Toolkit Guardian Lora Petrova has tried and tested many tools that can support financial investigations. In this video, she explains why it's important to be cautious when searching for and using these resources.

It also shows that, when nitazenes reach American users, they are almost always mixed with several other drugs, including methamphetamines, cocaine and, most notably, fentanyl.

The investigation found that, despite efforts to curb their spread across the country, nitazenes are proliferating online. Court documents show that buyers can easily find nitazene suppliers on dark web marketplaces, chemical supplier websites, and even on social media platforms.

In her mid-20s, Ashley Delgado suffered a leg injury and was prescribed OxyContin. The painkiller marked the beginning of a yearslong descent through addiction. She died at 29. Toxicology tests would later show a mix of substances in Ashley’s system, including nitazenes.

Toolkit Guardian Martin Sona @cargocultscientist.bsky.social has tried and tested a lot of tools useful for investigators focused on social media analysis. Here is Martin talking about his experience and why universal access to open source tools is important:

Grumant leaves the anchorage on April 18 and docks at the port of Benghazi where it unloads the grain. The ship was captured in a Vantor satellite image on April 20. 📷: @vantortech

In addition to satellite imagery, Bellingcat deployed a technique that analysed Grumant’s heading data which was contained in AIS information provided by Lloyd’s List Intelligence, to help confirm Grumant’s presence in Feodosia.

On February 15, the bulk carrier Grumant (IMO 9385879) was pictured at the occupied Ukrainian port of Feodosia on the Crimean peninsula. The region is known for GNSS interference, meaning that its publicly reported Automated Identification System (AIS) position is unreliable. 📷: @vantortech

We're updating our workshops with the latest open-source research techniques, and we'd love your input. What content would be most valuable to you? Complete our short survey and you'll be entered into a draw to win a place on a Bellingcat webinar: form.typeform.com/to/iviZsgLS

How do journalists investigate communities designed to stay hidden? On Thursday we'll be joined by the @cnn.com team who exposed the Motherless "sleep" community. Together we'll go behind the headlines to explore the risks of reporting in private online spaces. Join live: discord.gg/bellingcat?e...

Bellingcat found that Ruptly domains were sending performance data to Viory-linked domains, Viory's corporate owner used Ruptly's SSL certificate and the two agencies had four shared IP addresses. Test domains and backend tools appear shared, with both agency names written across sites and URLs.

What can munition remnants, damage patterns, or craters at the site of a strike reveal? Bellingcat researcher @easybakeovensz.bsky.social created five challenges to introduce you to techniques that open source researchers use to analyse the aftermath of a strike. Challenge.bellingcat.com