Inside DeepState: the secretive map tracking Russia’s deadly war with | World | News

In an age where most young men finished their education or planned “years of gap, Roman Pohorily created a masterful device that was seen as indispensable for the Ukrainian homeland, which was torn apart from the war today.

Russia, illegal, All-out invasion launched-24 February 2022-O time 22, novel and 27-year-old friend Ruslan Mykula, every day, a map used by millions of Ukrainians and millions of people all over the world. Deepstate maps were considered as the most detailed and reliable “open source” material of those in the settled country, along with the social media telegraph channel of the same name.

In addition, both young founding partners are accepted among the most expert commentators in the war because they can access the most sensitive information that may come to mind. After the sensational strike behind the enemy lines against Ukraine’s Russian aircraft, Roman BBC quotes: “This can be considered as one of the most brilliant operations in our history. We can be strong, that we can be creative, and no matter how far away.”

I met the novel in Odessa, the magnificent South Sea Harbor, the magnificent South Sea Harbor, where I became the chief sponsor of the Black Sea Security Forum during the second year and was a guest speaker at the three -day event.

Later, in a special interview, he talked about the pride of establishing a vehicle used by the military leaders of Ukraine, facade soldiers, political leaders and civilians.

“It is a great honor to help my country and to get all this at such a young age,” he said.

The two founders came together in the early 2014 “Revolution of Honor’ in Ukraine, the protesters and the deadly conflicts between the protesters and the state in Kiev resulted in the transfer of Russian President Viktor Yanukovic and the 2014 Russo-Ukrai war came together.

At that time, the novel was only a school child who was only 14 years old. The Deepstate story began six years later in February 2020, two years after Russia’s All-Out invasion, a 20-year-old law student, and at that time, 25-year-old Ruslan works in marketing.

They shared a love for technology and international news. Thus, they launched a telegraph channel with short reports about everything from Covid pandema to the Civil War in Syria and the Second Nagorno-Karabak war to the US George Floyd protests in the United States. Later, Russia and Taliban began to hear about the attack in Afghanistan.

At the end of 2021 and at the beginning of 2022, as the Russian troops gathered, two young men focused on the Ukrainian news – but at this point there were only 3,000 “subscribers olmayan that did not pay anything for the telegram channel.

Uz We started to follow the Russian unity movements in the accumulation of the occupation because we realized that there was something extremely suspicious. Then we continued to do this after the occupation, but much more comprehensively, ”the 26 -year -old novel said, a 26 -year -old novel living in Kiiv. Immediately after the occupation, he gathered an AK-74 attack rifle and helped to defend his hometown Irpin for two weeks, while Ruslan continued to work on the new Deepstate maps. Irpin soon became one of the worst destroyed cities of the first month of the war.

The lives of Roman’s old grandmother and grandfather were rescued from the city because they left their knees and their knees to avoid enemy fire.

“Russia destroyed my country, killed some of my friends, and I can never forgive them for that,” he said.

The novel, which defends its own city, soon worked with Ruslan on Deepstate maps.

Initially, they used Google maps as platforms, but at the end of March 2022, Google blocked the map for alleged “violation of service rules”. Two friends who have never been resourceful assigned a computer programmer to create an alternative, independent platform for their maps.

He was working once again in the days and was among the 25 most popular websites in Ukraine until June of the same year.

Deepstate’s growth for more than three years was surprising, and now there is more than 800,000 telegraph subscribers.

Until February last year, the Deepstate map was monitored more than a billion. Up to 100,000 users look at the map at any time.

What starts as a little free “entertainment için for two young men is now operated by more than 100 people, a mixture of paid staff and volunteers. Deepstate is largely financed by donations, but this is not a commercial initiative, but patriotic. Other sources of income are advertisements in telegraph channels and retailing.

Today, it is being carried out from a secret place in Deepstate Kiev.

In chat windows, there are thousands of photos, videos and messages that show missile strikes, Russian military equipment and other intelligence every day. Most of the work of the Deepstate team is to use various sources, including “geographical location için to determine whether the information is real, as Russia, spies and sympathizers are misinformation masters. However, after confirming, changes are made on the map.

As of April 2025, the map can be used by English and Ukrainian readers and plans for German and Spanish maps.

70% of the audience is Ukrainian and the rest is international. The producers say that their maps will never be Russian, but that there is a device that will enable Russian soldiers to surrender. In Russia, the map was officially banned on the grounds that “Russian sovereignty”.

Deepstate uses a color -coded system to monitor regional control. For example, the fields of currently controlled by the Russian forces, the Green Signs Region and Blue, which was recovered by Ukraine after the Russian occupation, marked areas that were recovered by Ukraine less than two weeks ago.

Since the Deepstate map can be clearly seen by everyone, discussions and display of information accurately and up -to -date focuses on Roman’s young shoulders without the weight of responsibility. “People’s lives are in danger, so we take our role very seriously,” he said. The map demonstrates enemy positions, including Russian defenses and command center.

For operational safety, deepstate does not detect Ukrainian units – only the area they receive.

The Ukrainian army now provides most of the source material for the map, from the soldiers on the ground to the planning strategy.

Ukrainian army, including the Ukrainian army to store the sensitive information that may be useful for Russia, including the land in Ukraine’s occupation of the Kursk region of Russia last year. “Our biggest prize is to help destroy the enemy,” the novel said.

However, the two men attract the line to the wrong information – because Deepstate has a reputation for the accuracy to be supported.

After this reputation disappeared, it would be difficult to win again, even impossible. “We prefer to close the project completely from being a source of lie,” he said.

Today, respected news organizations, from 24 channels to the Ukraine television news channel to the BBC, to the presidential office in Ukraine, state Deepstate’s information as a reliable source.

Russia has repeatedly tried to hack and destroy the site – but so far failed. Founding partners are also aware that Russian spies or sympathizers will try to infiltrate paid personnel or voluntarily to the workplace, so solid security controls are used to stop such activities.

In some cases, polygraph tests are used on potential personnel and volunteers, and when people begin to work for Deepstate, they can only access low -level materials. “The election process is meticulous. People go to the ranks because they prove their reliability and get more access. However, the most sensitive material can only be accessed for Ruslan and me,” he said. This means that if Russian agents try to kill or kidnap them, both men should be cautious with their personal security.

What does it hold for the future Deepstate and Rome? “The project will continue until the entire map returns to green [meaning the whole of Ukraine is liberated]. Until then, all our resources have been dedicated to this purpose. ”

“We have this great source, so that after the war, we will look at re -displacement in Ukraine or maybe abroad. We will adapt it depending on what is necessary, but we hope that our experience and skills can be used again in some way.

“But who knows what the future is? Ruslan and I can go back to our original professions: As a lawyer, I can go back to education and return to marketing. Everything is possible.”

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, charitable, writer and questionnaire. For more information about the work, visit Lordashcroft.com. Follow him on x/Facebook @lordashcroft