In Russia, "fakes" about Russian military to be punished by up to 15 years in prison

The Russian State Duma has passed a bill to prosecute individuals for circulating "deliberately false information about the actions of the Russian military."

This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to Kholod.Media’s Telegram channel.

A total of 401 deputies voted in support of the bill, but no one abstained or voted against it.

The penalty cap for disseminating "deliberately false information about the actions of the Russian military" is 15 years in prison.

At the same time, penalties are being introduced for "discrediting" and "calling for obstruction" of the use of Russian armed forces "in order to protect the interests of Russia and its citizens, to maintain international peace and security." The maximum prison term for such a "crime" is five years.

The law also introduces penalties for calling for sanctions against Russia.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the law would be voted by the Federation Council on March 4 before being immediately sent to be signed by the President of the Russian Federation.

As reported, on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and launched a large-scale invasion. Russian troops are shelling and destroying infrastructure, massively shelling residential areas across Ukrainian cities and towns, using artillery, MLR systems, and ballistic missiles.

Martial law was imposed in the country and general mobilization was announced.

Ukraine has filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation with the UN Criminal Court in The Hague.