Russia Proposes New Penalties for Troops Using Mobile Devices in Combat Zones

Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, has proposed a bill allowing for up to 10 days of disciplinary detention for troops using devices with camera and geolocation capabilities in combat zones. The proposal comes in response to incidents where mobile phones have been used to identify military targets in the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, has proposed a new bill that would impose disciplinary detention for up to 10 days on troops using devices equipped with camera and geolocation functions in combat zones, such as Ukraine, according to Russia's TASS state news agency.

Mobile phones have been a tool for both sides in the Ukraine war to identify targets through signal tracking and accessing photographs or messages, according to both Russian and Western officials. This has led the State Duma Defence Committee to support draft legislation classifying the use of such electronic devices for filming, audio recording, and transmission of geodata as a gross disciplinary offense.

The bill would empower military unit commanders to enforce disciplinary arrests for up to 10 days for violations. TASS also reported that the Duma law seeks similar penalties for distributing information that could identify Russian military personnel or their locations, a measure underscored by a 2023 Ukrainian missile strike that exploited unauthorized mobile phone use to fatal effect.