The ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.
The state of the city destroyed by a violent attack is reported every day.
In fact, many "live cameras" were installed in Ukraine to show the state of the city in real time.
What's going on with that "live camera" now?
Can you still see it?
I looked it up.
(International Department Reporter Mikio Tanabe, Network News Department Naoya Saito)
What is a "live camera" in the first place?
A live camera is a camera that captures the state of the city like a security camera.
It is connected to the Internet and people all over the world can freely watch the video.
Many video sharing sites such as YouTube have a lot of live camera images that anyone can see.
There are many live cameras in Japan, for example, you can check the best time to see, and check the weather and congestion of tourist spots through the live camera at the famous cherry blossom spot.
Is it also installed in Ukraine?
Even in Ukraine, before the military invasion by Russia, there were live cameras in various places including the capital Kyiv.
According to Hiroki Akakura, who runs a site that summarizes the images of live cameras from around the world, many live cameras in Ukraine are run by local companies and have been installed in more than 100 locations. is.
What did the live cameras in Ukraine show?
After checking the images of several live cameras, the live camera of the capital Kieu had an image of the light that seems to have been bombarded illuminating the distant sky in the early hours of late February immediately after the military invasion.
In addition, a video released by the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the southeastern part recorded the situation during the attack.
This video was reported around the world through the news and conveyed the vivid reality of the military invasion.
Can you still see it?
In fact, most live cameras have stopped delivering in real time.
According to Mr. Akakura, some cameras started to stop distribution a few days before the invasion began on February 24th.
And after the invasion, it was not delivered one after another, and most of the deliveries could not be seen in early March.
In some cases, the administrator of the live camera in Ukraine sent an e-mail saying, "We will stop the distribution, so please delete it from the site as well."
Mr. Akakura said that the communication situation had deteriorated and that he did not want the Russian side to know the local information.
Is there a live camera left?
Some are left behind.
One of them is a live stream of a monastery in the center of Kieu.
In the morning and evening, people who come to pray are projected.
The number of people watching the broadcast is also displayed, but while the number of people watching it is usually a few, it increases to about 50 when it is time to pray.
I felt that it was supporting the hearts of those who could not go to pray in difficult situations.
This delivery is also a bit unstable now.
What else can you see in Japan?
Sometimes something unexpected was reflected.
The live camera footage, which is said to show the road near the border with neighboring Belarus, looked like a barricade with large concrete-like piles on the wide road.
I don't know what it is, but maybe I was trying to monitor the barricade with a live camera.
In addition, the footage that is said to show eastern Kharkov shows a streak of light that seems to have been bombarded since the beginning of April, and something burning up, showing the tense situation of the ongoing military invasion. I've been.
NHK has also searched for live cameras left in Ukraine and started fixed-point observation.
I would like to analyze the local situation projected by these live cameras and tell what is happening in Ukraine now.