MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Ukrainians keep track of the war with Russia. There's an app for air raid alerts, social media channels that monitor missiles or drones Russia launches, and as peace negotiations may be coming, Ukrainians are glued to a homegrown map of the shifting frontline. NPR's Joanna Kakissis spoke to the creators in Kyiv.
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UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: (Speaking Ukrainian).
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Every day in Ukraine, there's a 24-hour news marathon that includes the latest on battlefield movements. Here's an anchor from the 1+1 TV station.
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UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: And she's citing an open-access map that gets millions of views and aims to show the shifting frontline without sugar-coating.
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UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: The map is called DeepState - somewhat ironically - and it was created by two childhood friends. One is 30-year-old Ruslan Mykula.
RUSLAN MYKULA: (Through interpreter) We try to show the situation as realistically as possible because no matter what, you cannot hide lies.
KAKISSIS: We meet Mykula and the other DeepState founder, 25-year-old Roman Pohorilyi, at their office in Kyiv. Pohorilyi shows us banners of Ukrainian military battalions and a mini museum of weaponry that includes destroyed Russian drones.
ROMAN POHORILYI: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: Pohorilyi was a law student, and Mykula was working in marketing when they started DeepState about four years ago as a Telegram channel focused on foreign affairs. Back then, Pohorilyi says, the channel had only a couple hundred subscribers.
POHORILYI: It was our friends, our families. So...
KAKISSIS: When Russian troops built up along the Ukrainian border in late 2021, the channel's focus turned exclusively to the impending war. Pohorilyi says they used open-source intelligence to create the map.
POHORILYI: (Through interpreter) We tracked how the troops were moving through photos and videos we verified. We thought it would be useful, and it was.
KAKISSIS: They use multiple videos and photos posted online by Ukrainians and Russians to verify authenticity. The map shows Russian-occupied land shaded in red and land held by Ukraine in green. Troop movements are marked by arrows. Small red squares pinpoint Russian units and bases. Mykula says some Ukrainians used the map to evacuate after the invasion.
MYKULA: (Through interpreter) They fled based on where the Russians were, so they tried to avoid the territories that were marked red, and this saved lives.
KAKISSIS: They say a Russian soldier even used DeepState to surrender. The map gives instructions on what to do when a Russian IP address is detected.
POHORILYI: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: Pohorilyi lists many others who now use the map, including front-line farmers, volunteer shuttling supplies to towns under siege and even the Ukrainian military. He says the map has hidden functions that only verified soldiers can use.
POHORILYI: (Through interpreter) I won't go into details of how they use it, but I will say it helps with orientation and planning and situational awareness so they understand what's happening on the ground.
KAKISSIS: Mykula says they sometimes delay adding details that could compromise Ukrainian military security, but they refuse to present a map that does not correspond with the reality on the ground.
MYKULA: (Through interpreter) Because we are fighting a war, and our institutions must have maximum trust. We tell everyone that if you lose trust, you lose everything.
KAKISSIS: The map is funded by donations, and the company has grown to include a hundred paid employees and volunteers. Yet Pohorilyi and Mykula say they yearn for a day when their map is no longer needed here when the war ends and all occupied territories are shaded green for victory - something that feels more uncertain than ever.
Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE ABBASI BROTHERS' "THE WAY OF THE WANDERER) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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