According to the Russian government and military, its army has not been involved the current conflict in Ukraine. It says that there are some Russians there, and they might have military experience, but they are not currently enlisted in the army - they are independent volunteers.

Digital tracks

Vice News reporter Simon Obstrovsky has found fresh evidence to contradict these claims by working with citizen journalists Eliot Higgins and Aric Toler and the Atlantic Council, who are recreating the conflict by analysing social media posts by active Russian soldiers.

Like anyone else with a smartphone, soilders have been obsessively posting photos and videos to social media sites tracing their daily lives.

The Atlantic Council is using identifiable landmarks and geotagged posts to explore Russian involvement in Ukraine.

The news site managed to trace the movements of one current Russian soldier named Bato Dambaev from Siberia, to Moscow, to the Ukrainian boarder and into Ukraine - recreating his photos along the way.

This is the key image:

He posted this photo at a checkpoint wareing a non-standard insignia-less uniform, and a white armband, attire which is described as being "typical of a volunteer in the pro-Russia rebel forces" who are active in Ukraine.

Simon Obstrovsky and his team were able to find the exact location of the photo in Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russia forces were active at the time when the photo was uploaded.

Ultimately they managed to find Bato Dambaev's family home. While he was not there they did get the opportunity to send him the photos and to talk to him on the phone. He offered the defence that it isn't him in the checkpoint photo.

Here's the full 23 minute documentary (contains graphic content):

Vice News, YouTube