Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday banned the release of information about troop deaths in “special operations” during peacetime, as the Kremlin continues to rebuff accusations its soldiers are fighting in Ukraine.
Putin signed an amendment adding to what Russia classifies as “state secrets” any “information revealing losses of personnel ... in peacetime during special operations.”
The addition means that those who disclose details about the deaths of soldiers sent on operations could now be prosecuted.
The move drew strong condemnation from Washington, which again accused Moscow of trying to hide its direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
“We see this as a misplaced effort to cover up what everyone knows, and that is that Russian active-duty military personnel are fighting and dying in eastern Ukraine and that the Russian government is denying it,” US Department of State spokesman Jeff Rathke said.
Analysts said the legal change was aimed at stamping out any leaks on military losses in Ukraine after activists released a string of evidence pointing to the deaths of Russian government soldiers across the border in the former Soviet state.
“The reason is not to reveal losses in Donbass,” military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said, referring to the war zone in eastern Ukraine, adding that the legal move was designed to “imprison or scare people.”
“I’ve never heard a legal definition of the concept of a special operation,” Felgenhauer said. “That means you could classify anything you like as this.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the amendment was “not linked to Ukraine,” but rather was an improvement of Russian laws concerning state secrets, according to RIA-Novosti news agency.
Peskov added Putin has no intention of authorizing special operations in Ukraine.
The decree gives no details of what exactly is meant by a “special operation.” Revealing state secrets, when it does not involve handing them to a foreign state, is a criminal offense that can be punished by up to four years in jail.
The Kremlin decree comes after Kiev earlier this month captured two men it said were Russian soldiers fighting in separatist eastern Ukraine. It also follows a spike in reports pointing to a massing of Russian equipment close to the Ukraine border.
The Kremlin has consistently denied government soldiers are fighting in Ukraine and claimed those fighting alongside rebels are there as volunteers.
Ukraine and the West insist Russia has not only armed and equipped the rebels, but also sent in troops to spearhead fighting against Kiev’s forces. NATO has said rebels are using a lull in the fighting due to a shaky truce to bolster their forces ahead of possible new offensive.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, Moscow said. They discussed efforts “to overcome the Ukraine crisis and establish a direct dialogue between the [Ukraine] conflict parties,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The tightening of the state secrets act prompted an outraged reaction from Kremlin critics.
“Now the activity of looking for victims of ‘special operations’ in Ukraine will be a breach of state secrets,” opposition leader and lawyer Alexei Navalny said on his blog. “Let the soldiers die and their relatives keep quiet. Those who don’t agree, we’ll jail for espionage.”
According to the latest survey by independent polling agency Levada published on May 5, only 20 percent of Russians believe government forces are fighting in Ukraine. Forty-eight percent said they believed Russians were serving there as volunteers.
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