Moscow - 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," State Department 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," said military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, 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," said Felgenhauer. "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 authorising 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 offence that can be punished by up to four years in jail.
AFP
