Russian military commanders stationed in occupied eastern Ukraine have begun to confiscate and destroy phones belonging to servicemen following the State Duma’s adoption of a bill prohibiting military personnel from using the devices in active combat zones in Ukraine, Russian Telegram channel ASTRA reported on Monday.
Photos first published on Russian pro-war Telegram channels showed smashed phones nailed to wooden boards or trees. Another video appeared to show telephones that once belonged to Russian troops nailed to a blackboard.
The State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, adopted the legislation last month, which must now be approved by the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, and signed into law by Vladimir Putin. Once the bill is signed into law, commanding officers will be empowered to punish their subordinates for making calls, posting personal information, sharing their location or talking to journalists while in the combat zone.
The bill has caused serious concern among both military commanders and Russian pro-war commentators, who argue that the law completely disregards the realities of modern warfare.
Indeed, following public criticism of the law, the head of the State Duma Defence Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, indicated that the legislation would be sent back to the chamber for revision and that personal phones used for combat missions would not be seized.
While the proposed law in theory grants commanding officers greater powers and obviates the need to petition a military court to approve a punishment, many have pointed out that commanders have long since taken the punishment of subordinates into their own hands.