Alexander “Sanya” Sotkin, the Russian soldier who posted a self-portrait of himself to Instagram from within Ukraine, is now using his social media following to beg for money. Apparently a sergeant in the Russian Army’s signal corps, Sotkin has posted pleas on Instagram and Twitter for “financial aid,” giving two WebMoney accounts for donations.

“Hello! Black PR created a big problem for me! Now I need financial aid,” Sotkin posted on Twitter on August 12. He posted a screenshot of the tweet on his Instagram account, as well as an image of him holding a piece of paper with two WebMoney account numbers. The Twitter account includes links to his VKontakte account, which lists his Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Skype accounts along with his mobile number.

In a fix

Sotkin drew worldwide attention on Instagram when it was discovered that two posts he made showed up on Instagram’s Photo Map as being taken within Ukraine. However, there is some dispute over whether the photos were actually taken within Ukrainian territory. Depending on the location service used and distortion from the vehicle he was in when he posted the picture, his position could have been miles from where the location data shows, across the border to the north or south of the strip of eastern Ukraine he appeared to be in. The photos appear to have been taken inside a Russian BTR-90 wheeled armored vehicle equipped as a communications vehicle.

GPS signals can be partially or completely blocked within a vehicle, resulting in fewer satellite signals to get a fix from. To get an accurate fix, GPS needs signals from at least four satellites. The same is true of GLONASS, the Russian satellite system; however, the GLONASS system’s satellites are in orbits that favor northern latitudes, and many phones now use a combination of GLONASS and GPS to get their fix. Even in urban environments, where buildings can block the line-of-sight to GPS satellites, the combination of GLONASS and GPS can result in a relatively accurate reading.

The backup method for location service used by some phones bases location on the relative strength of signal from nearby cell towers. In populated areas, triangulation using cell signals can give a position with an accuracy of about 50 meters, but in areas with few cell towers, it may be difficult or impossible to get a fix at all.

Additionally, Instagram allows users to manually select the location of their posts. So it remains a question whether Sotkin was actually in Ukraine, erroneously placed there by bad cell coverage, or just trolling the world when he posted twice during the night in early July. Answers would have to come from an entity with more signals intelligence than Instagram.

Busted in the borderlands

Regardless of where he really was, Sotkin’s posts drew thousands of jeering, sometimes abusive, comments along with scrutiny from international media. And apparently, the attention landed him in trouble with his superiors.

In a now-deleted Vkontakte post, Sotkin wrote on July 28, “I cant write in my status how everything is, but those who want to know how things are [sic] im me.” While he has been active on his Vkontakte account, there have been no further posts.

Then this week, Sotkin posted to Instagram and Twitter asking for money. And in the latest photo, it doesn’t appear he’s wearing the insignia of a sergeant anymore.