The upper house of the Russian parliament on Friday passed a bill that would impose a prison sentence of up to 15 years for people who intentionally disclose “false” information about the Russian Armed Forces, the TASS news agency reported.
The bill will become law once President Vladimir Putin signs it, as expected, according to the agency. Moscow says it is fighting what it sees as an information war with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian forces have been advancing on Ukraine since last week, amid attempts to negotiate a possible ceasefire. According to the UN (United Nations), the invasion has already left more than 220 dead and 1 million refugees. The Russians already dominate territories in eastern and southern Ukraine and keep the capital Kiev and the country’s second largest city, Kharkiv, as main targets.
With weapons supplied by the United States and European countries, Ukrainian forces try to resist the Russian offensive. The international community has also stepped up economic reactions and sanctions against Russia in an attempt to contain the conflict. The UN General Assembly, with the Brazilian vote, passed a resolution condemning the invasion.
This Friday (4), Russian forces took over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine. Russian troops are close to the capital Kiev.
The takeover of the plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, happened after a fire that lasted four hours in a training building outside the main reactor complex. The Ukrainian Emergency Service managed to control the fire at 6:20 am local time (1:20 am GMT). Radioactivity levels have not changedaccording to information from the Ukrainian regulatory body passed on to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of intentionally attacking the nuclear plant and urged world leaders to stop Russian forces “before this becomes a nuclear disaster”.
In 1986, Ukraine experienced the catastrophic nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power plant.
Source: CNN Brasil
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