According to the Russian news service RBC, on Thursday, November 7, the Russian State Duma approved in the first reading the legislation that would forbid Russian servicemen from publishing information about themselves and their comrades-in-arms on the internet and in the media

“This bill aims at providing security for servicemen and their protection from intelligence services of other countries,” said members of the Duma.

This bill is yet another attempt by the Russian government to limit leaks of unwanted information about the military invasions and the special operations that Russia conducts abroad.

Apparently, volunteer investigators from different countries had a significant influence on the adoption of these restrictive measures. Over the four years of its activity, the InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community prepared and published over 1700 OSINT investigations that were translated into more than 10 languages. These investigations included evidence of military invasions that was sensitive to Russia.

The interactive database Russian Aggression  contains links to investigations by InformNapalm that cover regular Russian servicemen from over 90 military units of different military and law enforcement forces. These servicemen were spotted in Ukraine (the Donbas and Crimea), Georgia and Syria.

The publication of personal information of at first 58, and then a total of 116 pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces in 13 languages, including Arabic, caused total panic in Russian media and diplomatic missions. All of that information came from open sources in mass and social media, however, the Russian side considered it a serious blow.

In November of 2018 InformNapalm plans to publish new data provided by the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance. It will include correspondence and audio conversations of one of the pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria.

Russian servicemen have left so many footprints on the internet, providing multiple proofs of their covert invasion, that no legislation or military orders will be able to completely stop the information leaks. In the age of digital technology, there are no threats or bans that could prevent Russian servicemen from making selfies in front of new and unique landscapes like spoil tips of the Donbas mines or the sands of Syria. Moreover, the risk of job loss for publishing personal information in mass or social media could become an additional advantage and provide opportunities for sabotage.

Russian soldier, if you do not want to follow the illegal order and fight against the neighboring country, take a selfie at the border and publish it on the internet. Maybe this selfie will save your life.

The material was prepared by Roman Burko specifically for the InformNapalm site. Translated by Maksym Sviezhentsev, edited by Max Alginin .When using the information, an active link to the source is required.
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