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Official position/function in relation to the conflict
The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) is a group of investigative journalists founded by Russian journalist Ruslan Leviev in 2015. CIT is a privately-owned, independent online media outlet, funded entirely by donations from individuals. CIT in most cases practices OSINT, or Open Source Intelligence methods, that is, search and analysis of information from open sources – media, websites, social networks, etc.
From the very beginning of the conflict in Donbas, the group made a significant contribution to the search for evidence and verification of the presence of Russian military personnel, mercenaries, so-called “military advisers,” as well as military equipment in eastern Ukraine.
Interests/goals in the conflict region
Leviev said he created CIT when he realized that the fighting in eastern Ukraine required coordinated fact-finding by civilian investigators. “When state TV claimed that only the volunteers were fighting from Russia in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, we provided enough videos and photos to prove that Russian heavy artillery and Russian military personnel were stationed in the conflict area.” The goal of the outlet is formulated quite clearly: “to stop the harmful actions of the Russian authorities leading to the escalation of military conflicts, the death of the military and civilian population.”
Actions regarding the conflict region
CIT specializes in searching for information and establishing the involvement and degree of guilt of Russian troops, special forces, and officials in war crimes in different countries of the world, including Ukraine: “Participants and eyewitnesses of the events publish a large number of photos, videos, text messages that need further analysis, as well as verification, geolocation. For a more effective investigation, we often have to establish direct personal contact with the military and their relatives in order to verify certain information, as well as obtain new facts.”
The most high-profile investigations are: