- Putin signed laws to prohibit spreading false news.
- Which is about volunteers and mercenaries in Ukraine.
- With potential prison sentences for violations.
Laws that forbid “discrediting” and disseminating “false news” about volunteers and mercenaries taking part in the conflict in Ukraine were signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.
Putin approved a measure that expanded the penal code’s prohibition on distributing “false information” about the Russian military forces to include volunteers and mercenaries, with a potential sentence of 15 years in prison.
Putin also signed a rule that forbids criticizing volunteers who took part in the so-called “special operation” — Russia’s euphemism for the full-scale invasion — according to the order made public on the nation’s official legal information portal.
That statute carries a maximum seven-year prison sentence for violations.
The new regulation is being implemented as the Russian operation in eastern Ukraine uses Wagner fighters as disposable troops.
Information on Wagner: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the private military contractor, has been prominently visible on the front lines recently and has been quick to take credit for Russian victories.
A few kilometers northeast of Bakhmut, in the town of Soledar, and the surrounding regions, had been heavily taken by Wagner fighters.
The media organizations were added to a list of publications that “contain calls for mass riots and participation in illegal mass gatherings,” according to state news agency.
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