Putin signed a law on punishment of up to seven years in prison for fakes about members of the SVO

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law punishing up to seven years in prison for discrediting participants in a special operation, including volunteers. The corresponding decree was published on the official Internet portal of legal information.

“Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation <…> shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of three hundred thousand to one million rubles or in the amount of the wage or other income of the convicted person for a period of three to five years, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to seven years” , — said in the document. The article about fakes in relation to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation now also applies to volunteers. The maximum punishment for it is up to 15 years in prison.

Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been conducting a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. The main task of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is to protect the inhabitants of Donbass from the genocide by Kyiv. In early March, amendments were made to the article on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces for consideration by the State Duma. The changes proposed to make the dissemination of fakes and public actions aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, volunteer formations and organizations unacceptable.