Updated on Friday 18/02/2022 at 1645 EAT.

Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border.

Moscow, Russia – On February 1, Igor, a middle-aged truck driver from Krasnodar posted a video on TikTok of a Russian military convoy cruising down a two-lane road in a rural area.

The short clip has gathered a little over 350 views – but it was quickly picked up by hawk-eyed analysts who monitor Russia’s military using open-source information and usually post their findings on Twitter.

Ruslan Leviev, founding member of Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), an independent Russian investigative organisation, is among them. He says TikTok videos showing the Russian military on the move are increasingly taking up a significant amount of researchers’ time – especially now, as tensions ratchet up on Russia’s border with Ukraine – helping them to report and analyse movements across the country.