Russian soldiers to soon face selfie ban over security concerns
According to the bill, photos, videos and other material uploaded to the internet could pose useful to an enemy by disclosing military details. Photo: Reuters
(Web Desk) – Russian soldiers and other military personnel may soon be facing a ban on social media posts on grounds of security concerns.
The Russian defence ministry has drafted a law to place such a ban, reported the BBC.
According to the bill, photos, videos and other material uploaded to the internet could pose useful to an enemy by disclosing military details. The report further adds that automatic geolocation can show where a military unit is deployed.
Another day,another #Russia s soldier bragging abt attacking #Ukraine. Mikhail Chugunov wrote "With Grads to Ukraine" pic.twitter.com/DKWyGIubXu
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) July 28, 2014
The bill affects "contract" soldiers, who can be sent abroad, not conscripts.
According to the BBC, Russian soldiers posts in the past have revealed forces deployed to Ukraine and Syria. In July 2014 a BBC reporter tweeted an image of a post by a Russian soldier who proudly reported delivering Grad rockets to the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Western governments accuse Russia of supplying weapons and troop reinforcements to support rebels. While Russia admits that some Russian "volunteers" are helping the rebels, it denies sending regular forces.
A reporter for Vice News, Simon Ostrovsky, had also previously revealed how a Russian soldier s social media posts had enabled him to confirm the Russian military s direct role in the eastern Ukraine fighting.
The Russian defence ministry says two state security bodies - the FSB and FSO - already ban their staff from posting social media content about themselves or their work.
A member of the Russian Military police takes pictures with a cell phone along with displaced Syrian children on March 1, 2017. Photo: AFP
The new ban affecting armed forces personnel is expected to take effect in January 2018.
Ukraine s military is also concerned about its soldiers revealing too much on social media. "There have been cases where positions were revealed, which led to active shelling," said Dmytro Podvorchansky of Ukraine s Dnipro-1 Regiment.
The Kyiv Post reported those concerns in 2015, when the fighting with pro-Russian rebels was more intense.
